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We have produced a publication about the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and some further publications about cross compliance. We are sending these out this month to all farmers in England who have claimed SPS and/or Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) schemes.
The publications are:
The mailing will be sent to the same distribution list as the RLR mapping update map packs. This includes all farmers claiming Single Payment Scheme and/or Rural Development Programme for England Schemes run by Natural England and Forestry Commission.
We have advised any agents who receive the mailing to make sure that the farmer knows about these changes.
If farmers need extra copies of any of these documents, they are advised to phone us on 0845 603 7777 or e-mail csc@rpa.gsi.gov.uk.
Single Payment Scheme Policy update
This provides information about policy changes for the 2009 and 2010 scheme years, administration of the scheme and the end of Hill Farm Allowance. It includes changes to some important dates for SPS 2010, these are:
- 4 April 2010 – Last date for us to receive your request to transfer entitlements for it to take affect by 17 May 2010, and in time for the 2010 scheme year.
- 17 May 2010 – Last date for us to receive SPS 2010 applications without us having to apply any late application penalties. Date you must have land at your disposal for the Single Payment Scheme.
Soil Protection Review and Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management
The new Soil Protection Review (SPR) 2010 includes all four of the former Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) that applied to soils. It explains about risks and guides farmers through the process of identifying the risks on their soils, and how to address them.
The rules for accessing waterlogged land have changed. They now give farmers more responsibility to identify risks to soil and greater flexibility to remedy any damage that occurs. Farmers no longer have to rely on exemptions to access waterlogged land, but will have to record any activity on waterlogged land that take place and the corrective action they take.
‘The Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2010’ covers the main changes of the new SPR 2010, gives farmers advice on managing different types of soil and understanding their cross compliance requirements. It also includes new information on buffer strips next to watercourses and how these could be used on their land.
The SPR 2010 and Guidance are also available on our website at www.rpa.gov.uk and through the Whole Farm Approach at www.wholefarm.defra.gov.uk.
Replacement pages for ‘The Guide to Cross Compliance in England’
Some sections of ‘The Guide to Cross Compliance in England’ have changed, so we are sending replacement pages showing these changes.
There is also a new Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition, Water abstraction (GAEC 18), and we are sending a new page with details of this.
We are also sending farmers two pages which we updated and published in the electronic version of ‘The Guide to Cross Compliance in England’ earlier this year.
- Cattle identification and registration (SMR 7)
- Restrictions on the use of substances having hormonal or thyrostatic action and beta-agonist in farm animals (SMR 10)
We ask all farmers to read these pages carefully as they explain the cross compliance rules and highlight what is new. The changes apply from 1 January 2010 unless otherwise stated. Farmers may wish to keep the previous versions to refer to and are advised to replace the older versions with these updated pages.
An up-to-date version of ‘The Guide to Cross Compliance in England’ can be found on our website at www.rpa.gov.uk/crosscompliance.
The pages listed below will be updated on our website (www.rpa.gov.uk/crosscompliance) on 31 December 2009:
- What’s new
- Contents
- General information
- Key farming activities
- Key dates
- The Whole Farm Approach
- Soil Protection Review (GAEC 1)
- Agricultural land which is not in agricultural production (GAEC 12)
- Protection of hedgerows and watercourses (GAEC 14)
- Nitrate Vulnerable Zones – NVZs (SMR 4)
- Sheep and goats identification (SMR 8)
- Food and feed law (SMR 11)
- Control of foot and mouth disease, bluetongue, swine vesicular disease and certain animal diseases (SMRs 13, 14 and 15)
- Inspection criteria
- Water abstraction (GAEC 18)
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