A new set of rules apply to participants in all farm schemes that are administered by DAERA from 1 January 2026.

The seven Farm Sustainability Standards effectively replace the long-standing cross-compliance requirements for receiving farm payments in NI.

The new rules cover areas such as prevention of water pollution, protection of habitats, animal welfare and livestock identification.

In terms of day-to-day requirements for NI farmers, there are very few changes between the old standards and the new system.

Key rules include having 22 weeks slurry storage for cattle, replacing lost livestock tags within 28 days, and receiving written permission from DAERA before removing hedgerows or ditches.

The main dates for closed periods and submitting forms also remain unchanged with the new Farm Sustainability Standards.

This includes the 31 January deadline for manure export records, 1 March deadline for submitting nitrates derogation records, 1 February to 15 October open period for slurry spreading, and 1 March to 31 August closed period for hedge cutting.

Arguably the main change with the new Farm Sustainability Standards relates to the system of penalties that applies to farmers who are found to be in breach of the rules.

In particular, the long-running system of categorising rule breaches as either “negligent” or “intentional” has been scrapped by the department.

From now on, the exact penalty that a breach attracts depends on the severity of the non-compliance and whether it is a first-time breach or a repeat offence.

A new concept is the requirement to complete mandatory online training for all first-time breaches, regardless of severity.

The level of fine or penalty that applies to farm payments increases as breaches become more severe and are repeated.