Farming

Further information: Cross compliance

Contents:


Introduction - Cross compliance requirements

Cross compliancerequirementsapply to anyone who receives direct payments under Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support schemes or receives payments under certain Rural Development schemes.

There are three types of cross compliance requirements:

  • specific European legal requirements, known as Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs)
  • domestic legal requirements requiring land be kept in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC)
  • requirements to maintain a level of permanent pasture not included in the crop rotation for 5 years or more – this is not currently a cross compliance requirement for individual farmers, but may become one in future years.

Cross compliance requirements apply in addition to underlying obligations under European and UK legislation.All agricultural activities are covered by cross compliance and claimants must comply with the requirements across the whole agricultural area of their holding, regardless of the amount of land entered into the Single Payment Scheme (SPS).

If there is a breach of cross compliance that is directly attributable to the claimant, they may have all of their direct payments reduced. Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will advise of any payment reductions.

Claimants will be held responsible for acts carried out by statutory bodies where that body required consent for their action and the claimant permitted them to carry out an action that amounted to a non-compliance. Claimants will not be held responsible for breaches by statutory bodies where they did not have the power to stop a statutory body from taking the action.

Responsibility for ensuring compliance in relation to the identification and traceability of sheep, goats and pigs lies with the keeper – in this case the person with day-to-day responsibility for the animals. This applies regardless of who owns the animals and whose land they are grazing on.

Responsibility for ensuring compliance in relation to the identification and traceability of cattle also lies with the keeper – in this case the person registered on the Cattle Tracing System (CTS).

Responsibility for ensuring the welfare of all farmed animals lies with both the keeper – again, the person who has day-to-day responsibility for the animals – and the owner of the animals.

Publications

We have produced A Guide to Cross Compliance in England and Management of Habitats and Landscape Features: Guidance for Cross Compliance in England. -which provides good practice suggestions to help meet some of the requirements. We have also produced a revised Guide to Cross Compliance in England which amalgamates all previous versions and now sets out the cross compliance requirements in a farmer friendly manner.

Further publications can be found on the RPA website under SPS handbooks and Guidance

Further Advice

Cross compliance support and advice for farmers in England is available from both Momenta and the RPA.

Cross compliance: Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs)

Statutory Management Requirements were phased in over a 3 year period from 2005. They comprise of a number of articles from 19 EU Directives and Regulations applicable to farmers which address environmental; public, plant and animal health; and animal welfare.

The are currently 4 competent control authorities (CCAs) responsible for selecting and carrying out SMR inspections in England.

CCA

Area of Responsibility

Rural Payments Agency

SMRs 1, 5, 6, 7/ 8, 8a, 9, 11 & 12

Environment Agency

SMRs 2,3 & 4

Veterinary Medicines Directorate

SMR 10

Animal Health

SMRs 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18

Each CCA is required to inspect at least 1% of farm businesses submitting claims under the Single Payment Scheme, and at least 1% of farm businesses that entered into new commitments under certain land-based rural development schemes from 1 January 2007. Each body will select and carry out inspections on the farm businesses that need to comply with the SMRs for which it has CCA responsibility.

Where non-compliance with the SMRs are found, the level of seriousness will be assessed by the inspector with regard to the extent, severity, permanence and repetition, as set out in EU legislation.

Cross compliance: Good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC)

All of the GAEC standards have been in place since January 2005 and set requirements for farmers in respect of soils, as well as maintaining a range of habitat and landscape features which are characteristic of the English countryside. They either reinforce existing law, or were already existing good practice.

All of the GAECs are currently inspected by RPA who are required to inspect at least 1% of farm businesses submitting claims under the Single Payment Scheme, and at least 1% of farm businesses that entered into new commitments under certain land-based rural development schemes from 1 January 2007.

Where non-compliance with the GAECs is found, the level of seriousness will be assessed by the inspector with regard to the extent, severity, permanence and repetition, as set out in EU legislation.

Soils

Cross compliance requirements apply in addition to underlying obligations under European and UK legislation.All agricultural activities are covered by cross compliance and claimants must comply with the requirements across the whole agricultural area of their holding, regardless of the amount of land entered into the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). This includes common land over which they exercise or hold rights of common, including rights in gross. The only exception is that they do not need to produce a Soil Protection Review (SPR) for common land.

Protection of landscape features

Farmers will be required to comply with existing legislation that protects a diverse range of habitats and landscape features, including Tree Preservation Orders, Hedgerows Regulations, Environmental Impact Assessment, Scheduled Monuments Legislation, SSSI legislation under Wildlife and Countryside Act, Heather and Grass Burning Regulations and the Forestry Act.

Set-aside

In mid 2007 the EU Agriculture Council announced its intention to reduce the compulsory level of set-aside to 0% for 2008, this was confirmed in September. In its Communication of November 2007 the Commission anticipated the permanent abolition of set-aside and noted the need to preserve the environmental benefits as part of the Health Check.

Following this decision, Hilary Benn announced an immediate programme of environmental monitoring of farmland. He also announced that Defra would be looking at how the Entry Level (ELS) strand of Environmental Stewardship could help mitigate any detrimental environmental impact caused by the loss of set-aside and that he would be prepared to take further action, depending on the significance of the environmental impact. 

The programme of environmental monitoring work is being taken forward by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and is designed to take forward our preparation of possible policy options that could be used to fulfil a need for further action. A second strand of the proposed work for IEEP is more strategic - to influence our negotiating position for the imminent Health Check by clarifying our longer aspirations for CAP in the light of our environmental objectives. 

Permanent pasture

Permanent pasture has been defined as land that has been under grass for at least 5 years and has not been ploughed for other crops in that time. A control mechanism has to be put in place to ensure that the national area of permanent pasture is not reduced by more than 5% of the total area of agricultural land - to meet the EU Regulations. Afforestation of permanent pasture that is "compatible with the environment" is exempt from this requirement providing it has been assessed under the existing Forestry EIA Regulations.

Permanent pasture includes all herbaceous plants traditionally found in natural pasture or normally included in mixtures of seeds for pasture or meadows in England, regardless of whether or not used for grazing. If the area of permanent pasture in England or the UK declines when compared with the 2003 figures, Defra (in conjunction with the devolved agencies) may have to take steps to prevent any further loss of permanent pasture, especially if this decline approaches 5%. If the area of permanent pasture declines by more than 10%, farmers who converted pasture in the two years prior to the 10% level being exceeded will be obliged to reconvert an area of land to permanent pasture and retain the land as permanent pasture for five year. In such circumstances areas converted to woodland would not be required to be converted back to permanent pasture.

It is good practice to leave land in permanent pasture on steep fields and flood plains, as this can contribute to reducing erosion and soil loss during periods of heavy rain and flooding.   

Payments are available under the Environmental Stewardship for managing permanent pasture when farmers meet specific stocking, fertiliser and grassland management conditions, providing they have delivered the agreed environmental outcomes. Permanent pasture of high environmental interest, such as that which supports certain species or is on, or adjacent to, an SSSI, may be suitable for entry into the Higher Level Environmental Stewardship scheme.

Detailed guidance on managing pasture can be obtained by contacting Natural England (NE) or on their website: www.naturalengland.org.uk

CAP Health Check

During 2008, the Commission are undertaking a Health Check of the CAP. They have stated that cross compliance is, and will remain, an essential element of the CAP with two stated objectives:

1. To contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture;
2. To make the CAP more compatible with the expectations of society at large, in that agricultural payments should no longer be granted to farmers who fail to comply with basic rules in certain important areas of public policy.

One of the priorities of the Health Check of the CAP is to make the Single Payment Scheme more effective, efficient and simple. It provides a further opportunity – besides those made as a consequence of the EU review of cross compliance in 2007 - to provide additional simplification for both farmers and Member States

The Health Check will address the whole scope of cross compliance with a view to amending the present list of SMRs and the framework of GAEC.

 

Page published: 9 April 2008

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs