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Section 4 - What should I do if I have another scheme or obligation on my land?

4.1 Single Payment Scheme (SPS)

Land receiving payments from the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) may be entered into OELS. Your OELS payment will be in addition to any payment you receive for SPS.

4.1.1 Cross compliance management and OELS and ELS options

OELS and ELS options have been designed to go beyond the SPS cross compliance requirements. However, you should follow the procedure below when you are measuring your OELS and ELS hedge, ditch and buffer strip options to make sure you comply with both OELS/ELS and cross compliance requirements.

SPS cross compliance conditions include a requirement to maintain 'protection zones' by not cultivating or applying fertilisers, manures or pesticides to land within 2 m of the centre of a hedgerow or watercourse. This requirement also applies to all land within 1 m of the top of the bank of a watercourse.

Hedge and ditch options (OB1 to OB3 and OB6 to OB10 and EB1 to EB3 and EB6 to EB10) have been designed to be compatible with this cross compliance requirement. If you choose to do these options you must follow the option prescriptions laid out in this handbook. The 'protection zone' requirement for cross compliance is incorporated within the option rules.

Buffer strip options (OE1 to OE6/ EE1 to EE6) must not overlap with the cross compliance
'protection zones' (i.e. the OELS or ELS buffer strip must start 2 m from the centre of the hedge or at least 2 m from the centre of the ditch ).

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If you are locating your OELS or ELS buffer strip next to a hedge which extends further than 2 m from the centre, it is acceptable for part of your OELS or ELS buffer strip to be covered by the hedge, provided the land would otherwise be eligible as a buffer strip.

For full details of management requirements for SPS cross compliance please refer to your Single Payment Scheme guidance on Cross Compliance Handbook for England.

4.1.4 Providing information on your SPS annual return

You will be required to provide information about the location and amount of your OELS and ELS options on your annual SPS return.

4.2 Organic Aid Scheme/Organic Farming Scheme (OAS/OFS)

Land covered by an existing Organic Aid Scheme/Organic Farming Scheme (OAS/OFS) agreement is not eligible for OELS. This land must be excluded from your OELS application. Depending on the type of agreement you have under these schemes though, the following options may be available to you:

4.2.1 OAS/OFS conversion aid agreements
  • Remain in these schemes until your conversion agreement(s) expire, then apply to join OELS; or
  • Remain in these schemes until all of the field parcels included in these agreement(s) have completed conversion and then apply to join the OELS, transferring all of the field parcels covered by your OAS/OFS conversion agreement(s) into OELS (see below). This means you can transfer from the OAS/OFS into OELS at any point after the status of the field parcels listed on your certificates of registration and accompanying schedules issued by your Organic Inspection Body changes from 'in conversion' to fully organic. This will normally be after a period of two years for the conversion of improved land and three years for the conversion of top fruit orchards.
4.2.2 OFS maintenance agreements
  • Remain in this scheme until your maintenance agreement(s) expires, then apply to join OELS; or
  • Apply to join OELS, transferring all of the field parcels covered by your existing OFS maintenance agreement(s) into OELS (see below).

If you decide to remain in the OAS/OFS until your existing conversion and/or maintenance agreement(s) expire, the field parcels covered by these agreement(s) must be excluded from your OELS application and your calculations to establish your OELS eligible land area. This means you must either:

  • Ask RDS to delete from annex 2 of your pre-filled application form and application maps the field parcels covered by your OAS/OFS agreement(s) before they send it to you; or
  • If you already have your pre-filled application form and application maps, you must cross out the field parcels listed in annex 2 which are covered by your OAS/OFS agreement(s). You must not include these field parcels in your calculations to establish your OELS eligible land area.
4.2.3 Transfers from OAS/OFS into OELS

If, after reading the above guidance you wish to transfer land included in an existing OAS/OFS agreement out of those schemes and include it in a new OELS application, you must:

  1. Inform your RDS office that you wish to terminate your existing OAS/OFS agreement(s) early and transfer the land covered by these agreements into OELS. This triggers the transfer process.
  2. Ask RDS to add the field parcels covered by your existing OAS/OFS agreement(s) to annex 2 of your pre-filled application form and application maps before they are sent out to you so you can include them in your calculations to establish your OELS eligible land area.
  3. If you already have your pre-filled application form and application maps, check that the field parcels covered by your existing OAS/OFS agreement(s) are included. If the field parcels are not shown, you must to contact your RDS office to request a new application form and application maps including these field parcels so you can include them in your calculations to establish your OELS eligible land area.

    You must not add any field parcels to the pre-filled details at annex 2 of your application form yourself.

  4. All of the field parcels covered by your existing OAS or OFS agreement(s) must be included in your OELS application, otherwise you will be in breach of your OAS/OFS agreement(s) and you will have to repay the OAS or OFS grant previously received.
  5. Once you are confident that all of the field parcels you wish to transfer from your existing OAS/OFS agreement(s) into OELS are included in your application form and application maps, you should follow the guidance at section 2 of this handbook for how to complete your application on your OELS eligible land.
  6. If your application to the enter OELS is successful, RDS will contact you confirming the termination of your OAS/OFS agreement(s). Your entitlement to any remaining OAS/OFS grant due to you under these agreement(s) will cease from the date your OELS agreement comes into effect.
  7. If, for whatever reason, your OELS application is unsuccessful, you will be notified and your OAS/ OFS agreement(s) will continue unchanged.

It is not possible to transfer land from an existing OAS or OFS agreement into an existing OELS agreement. Section 6.4 of this handbook provides guidance on what to do if you want to add land to an existing OELS agreement.

4.3 Can I enter field parcels that are currently undergoing conversion, but have never benefited from conversion aid under OAS/OFS into OELS and attract conversion aid?

Yes, providing the field parcels are

  • not included in an agreement under another agri-environment scheme;
  • they are in their first year of conversion; and
  • they are listed as 'in conversion' to organic farming on your certificates of organic registration and accompanying schedules issued by your Organic Inspection Body.

These fields should qualify for both conversion aid top up payments at the applicable payment rates and for a payment of £60 per ha/per year as part of your OELS eligible land. If the field parcels are in year two or more of conversion, they will only qualify for a payment of £60 per ha/per year as part of your OELS eligible land.

To add these field parcels to your OELS application you should contact your RDS office and ask them to add the relevant field parcels to your pre-filled application form and application maps so that you can include them in your calculations to establish your points target on your OELS eligible land and your conversion aid top up payments (where applicable). You must not add any field parcels to your pre-filled details at annex 2 of your form yourself.

4.4 Can field parcels that are already fully organic, but have never benefited from conversion aid under the OAS/OFS go into OELS?

Yes ­ providing they are not covered by another agri-environment scheme agreement, although they will only qualify for a payment rate of £60 per ha/per annum as part of an OELS agreement. See section 4.2 above for how to add this land to your application.

4.5 Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS)

If you already have a Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) agreement covering some of the land comprising your organic unit, you may still be able to apply for OELS. You must follow these instructions regarding which OELS eligible fields should be included in your application:

  1. If a CSS option covers the whole field, the field concerned should not be included in your application. This means that you can do one of the following:
    • Ask RDS to delete the relevant field parcel number before sending you your pre-filled application form, or;
    • if you already have your pre-filled application form, cross out the relevant field parcel number on your field data sheet and on your application maps (see section 2.3.1 of this handbook for detailed instructions on how to delete field parcels from your pre-filled application form). If you need to delete several parcels, you may prefer to ask RDS for a new set of forms and application maps.
  2. If the CSS option only covers part of the field (e.g. grass margins), you must include the whole field parcel in your application, but, in order to avoid being paid twice for the same thing, you must not locate any OELS options on top of any of your CSS options. This rule does not apply to OELS management plan options; they may be applied to all land included in your application, provided the land meets the eligibility criteria for the management plan concerned ­ see pages 117 to 121 of this handbook.
  3. Land in CSS rotational options should be included in your application but you should make sure that each year there is no overlap of CSS and OELS options on the ground.
  4. For boundary features (e.g. hedges), you can locate OELS boundary options on boundaries which are being funded by CSS (this is because the two schemes are paying for different things).

If your CSS agreement covers ELS eligible land that you manage, you may still be able to apply for ELS payments on this land as part of your combined OELS agreement.

You should follow steps (a) to (d) above remembering to include these field parcels in your calculations to establish and meet a points target for your ELS eligible land.

4.6 Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA)

If you have a whole farm/holding ESA agreement, you cannot apply for OELS on this land until your ESA agreement has come to the end of its term. If you have land which is subject to a part-farm ESA agreement, you must follow the instructions (a) to (d) for CSS agreements (above). However, OELS and ELS options (including boundary options) may not be located within the area covered by the ESA agreement, although OELS and ELS boundary options may be located along boundaries which divide the ESA area from the OELS and/or ELS areas.

4.7 Energy Crops scheme (ECS)

If you have land in the ECS it must be excluded from the area of land counting towards your OELS points target and associated payment. However, you can count this land towards the area used to calculate your ELS points target and associated payment. ELS options must not be located within land parcels covered by the ECS agreement. Boundaries surrounding ECS parcels may be entered into ELS boundary management options.

4.8 Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS), Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS), Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) and the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS)

Woodland under long term FWPS, FWS or WGS agreements (all of which are now closed to new applications) listed on your certificate of organic registration and accompanying schedules provided by your Organic Inspection Body and forming part of your organic unit can count towards your OELS eligible land area.

Woodland covered by an EWGS agreement and listed on your certificate of organic registration and accompanying schedules can also count towards your eligible area for OELS, but you must make sure that there is no overlap between your OELS options and any management you are required to do as part of your EWGS grant.

Woodland not listed on your certificate of organic registration and accompanying schedules and under long term FWPS, FWS, or WGS and forming part of your conventional unit can count towards your ELS eligible land area. Woodland not registered with an Inspection Body and covered by an EWGS agreement can also count towards your ELS eligible land area, but you must ensure that there is no overlap between your ELS options and any management you are required to do.

4.9 Hill Farm Allowance (HFA)

Land in blocks of 15 ha or less on which you are claiming HFA and which forms part of your organic unit is eligible to count towards your OELS points target and you may put OELS management options on HFA land.

Land in blocks of 15 ha or less on which you are claiming HFA and which forms part of your conventional unit is eligible to count towards your ELS points target and you may put ELS management options on HFA land.

All land in blocks of 15 ha or more on which you are claiming HFA must count towards your ELS points target and you may put ELS management options on this HFA land.

4.10 Other land management schemes on my land

If you receive payments from other agri-environment schemes or have similar commitments on the land, for instance, as part of an English Nature management agreement (including the Wildlife Enhancement Scheme) or an English Heritage management agreement, such land is not eligible for OELS. You will have to exclude the land parcels concerned from your application and you will not be able to put OELS or ELS options on any of the field parcels covered by these other agreements. It is your responsibility to ensure that these field parcels are not included in your application.

Other designated land (e.g., Sites of Special Scientific Interest or Scheduled Monuments) which is not receiving payment is eligible for OELS, but you must keep to the required management of the land concerned, and there must be no conflict with your OELS or ELS management.

4.11 Inheritance/Capital Gains tax exemption

Land conditionally exempt from inheritance tax or designated as the object of a maintenance fund by Inland Revenue, is normally eligible for OELS. However, you must not claim for work that is a formal requirement of the undertakings agreed with Inland Revenue. You will therefore need to look carefully at the relevant OELS and ELS options that are available for this land to ensure that you do not include such work in your application.

You should keep a copy of a map on which you have clearly marked the boundary of any exempt or designated land, and be prepared on subsequent compliance inspection to be able to demonstrate on a parcel-by-parcel basis how the selected options do not overlap with your existing undertakings. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your application meets these scheme rules.

A leaflet ('A guidance note on Environmental Stewardship for heritage properties designated under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984'[Click to download Adobe Acrobat Reader][103KB]) provides more detailed information for owners of inheritance tax exempt properties and their advisors. You can also obtain this leaflet from your RDS office.

4.12 Farm assurance schemes and the Pesticide Industry Voluntary Initiative

If you are already taking part in one or more farm assurance scheme or the Voluntary Initiative, this will not affect your eligibility to apply for the scheme. Hopefully you will find it easier to accumulate points towards your separate points targets as a result of the management you are already following. This is particularly the case for assurance schemes which aim for improved environmental standards, such as the Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) Marque.

4.13 Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs)

If you are in an NVZ, you must make sure that you are fully aware of the mandatory NVZ Action Programme rules. These rules apply to the way you manage your land to minimize the risk of diffuse nitrate pollution. If your land is within an NVZ, it is your responsibility to ensure that you can meet the rules of both schemes. Where the rules overlap you must meet those that are the most demanding. Further information on the Action Programme measures and detailed maps of NVZ locations.

4.14 Other obligations

You must make sure there are no other duties or obligations on you or the land that would conflict with your OELS agreement.

4.15 Non-farming activities on organic land

Before allowing any non-farming activities to be carried out on the land comprising your organic unit (e.g. caravan parks, etc), you must contact your Organic Inspection Body to ensure that the status of the land comprising your organic unit will not be compromised. You will also need to ensure that the proposed activities do not conflict with the delivery of the required management options you have agreed to undertake on your OELS eligible land.

Page last modified: 19 May, 2005
Page published: 3 March, 2005

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs