Rural Payments Agency
If you think the extreme weather will affect your ability to meet your agreement requirements or change the area eligible for a scheme, you should contact us as soon as you can. Please detail the extreme weather event including the date and time it occurred.
Short-term effects
When extreme weather means that you cannot temporarily manage your agreement according to theCSorESoption requirements, you can request a minor and temporary adjustment to those requirements. You need to complete the Minor and temporary adjustment (MTA) form.
Once you have filled in the form, postthe form to us. Or you can scan it, thenemail it to usand include the following in the subject title:
- Adjustment Request
- the scheme you need to request an adjustment for
- your agreement or Single Business Identifier (SBI) number
If agricultural land or woodland is flooded
Flooded agricultural land or woodland is still eligible forBPS and may not affect land in aCS orESagreement, if the flooding is temporary and the land would otherwise still be available for agricultural activity. Please write to us and provide further detail to allow us to assess eligibility.
You should:
- return the land to agricultural or woodland use as soon as practically possible
- continue to meet the scheme rules or requirements of agreement options on the affected land parcels
Long-term effects
Where the impact of extreme weather is more serious and permanent, and prevents you from meeting scheme requirements, or your agreement obligations for the current year, you should contact us.
When to request a permanent change
Extreme weather can be considered under good reasons or force majeure if you are unable to meet scheme requirements or agreement obligations due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances outside your control.
Force majeure applies to ES agreements and CS agreements with a start date before 1 January 2023.
Good reasons applies to CS Higher Tier and Mid Tier and Wildlife Offer agreements with a start date of 1 January 2023 or later and for CS Capital agreements from the 2022 application round, with agreement start dates from 2022 onwards.
You may also need to consider requesting a permanent change to future years of your agreement.
ForBPS, the impact could be regarded as more serious and permanent if the land can no longer be considered as eligible forBPSand no longer meets the land eligibility criteria. For example, if a stretch of river bank and part of the land parcel has been washed away and the boundary of the field subsequently moved, then the area washed away would be a permanent change. Another example would be where stone or debris is covering eligible land and making that land ineligible.
ForESandCS, the impact may result in a permanent change to the agreement land, or land features, or both, meaning that you can no longer manage the land according to the requirements of the options in your agreement. For example, a hedgerow or newly created woodland that is part of yourCSorESagreement has been destroyed, or as above, part of a land parcel may have been washed away.
When extreme weather changes your land permanently, you should check whether you need to make corresponding changes to your digital maps (see our guidance on how to make such changes). Its important you let us know if this will change the areas able to be managed underES,CSor a Woodland scheme, or change theBPSeligible area.
How to request a permanent change
ForBPS2023 applications, andCSandESagreements, you mustemail or write to ususing the subject title Extreme weather 2023, your Single Business Identifier (SBI), and forCSandES, your agreement numbers. You will need to provide written evidence to show:
- what has happened
- how the event means you are unable to meet the scheme rules or agreement requirements or both
You must send your email or letter within 8 weeks of being able to do so. This means within 8 weeks of the time you realise that you cannot meet any of the scheme requirements or agreement obligations. It is not necessarily 8 weeks from the extreme weather event itself.
You will need to prove that, despite taking every care that could have been expected of you, the exceptional circumstances prevented you from meeting your obligations.
Your evidence should include details of the actions taken with an explanation of the events and the dates they occurred.
A Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement is affected
Where there is a change of circumstances or your land is affected, you will need to contact RPA as soon as reasonably practicable. For more information, read the Good reasons for a breach in the Checking youre complying with your SFI agreement guidance.
A Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Pilot agreement is affected
Where there is a change in your circumstances or your land is affected, you will need to contact RPA as soon as reasonably practicable. For more information, read the Good reasons for a breach in theSFI Pilots terms and conditions.
When Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) land is affected
IfSSSIland is affected and you need to carry out remedial work or boundary repairs or both, you may need consent from Natural England before you start any work.
Where you need to carry out emergency works you can do this without Natural Englands consent. However, you must notifyNatural Englandand include details of the emergency as soon as you can.
Farm Woodland Premium Scheme or English Woodland Grant Scheme is affected
If you have concerns about a grant scheme that is administered by the Forestry Commission rather than by the Rural Payments Agency, contact them directly using the relevant dedicated mailbox. If youre not sure what that is, emailthe Forestry Commission.
Deal with dangerous or fallen trees on your land
You do not need a felling licence to fell a dangerous tree or remove a fallen tree.
You should gather evidence that supports your decision that the tree was an imminent danger. If possible, you should take photos (with reference to scale) that show the tree setting and condition before and after felling or if fallen. Other forms of evidence might include maps, site surveys or reports and, importantly, a record that confirms when tree felling took place.
For information on the felling licence process, please seeFelling licence: getting permission.
Keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weather
Read about keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weather.
Report animal movements
Where the welfare or survival of livestock is at risk due to any extreme weather event, as an animal keeper you must move them to a safe location. You should do this as soon as possible, providing it is safe to do so.
For cattle keepers, you must record and report cattle movements. You may not be able to report the movements to another holding, or cattle births and deaths, within regulatory deadlines. You must update your farm records and report births, movements, and deaths as soon as possible after moving the animals to a safe location.
If you have any problems, keepers in England should contactBCMSon 0345 050 1234, keepers in Wales should call 0345 050 3456, and keepers