Updated guidance on EU greening rules to help farmers applying for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments in 2016, make their ‘greening’ calculations has been published.
The rules cover three areas – crop diversification, Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) and measures to maintain permanent grassland.
Update for 2016
The key changes to the greening rules are :
- oilseed radish can now count (as part of a mix) as an EFA catch and/or cover crop
- some EFA features can now be up to 5 metres away from arable land, rather than immediately next to it
Which farmers are affected?
- farmers with 10 or more hectares of arable land need to follow the crop diversification greening rule
- farmers with more than 15 hectares of arable land must also follow the EFA greening rule
- farmers with less than 10 hectares of arable land do not need to do anything differently – they automatically meet the crop diversification and EFA rules
- farmers who apply to the Basic Payment Scheme with permanent grassland must follow the permanent grassland greening rule