With the new year upon us and the start of the 2018 SAF year farmers who have to do greening need to consider their options and quantities to ensure they can continue to meet the 5% requirements. There have been some changes introduced which apply from the 1st January 2018.
The main changes are the introduction of two new options, combined with the merging of field margins and buffers taking the number of options to eight for 2018.
EFA hedges
The first new option available is EFA hedges (EFAH). To be eligible for declaring hedgerows as greening the hedges must meet the following criteria:
Must be at least 20m in length, or less than 20m where it meets another hedge at each end, with gaps of less than 20m included as the ‘hedge’. Be within 5m of arable land OR continuous to a claimed EFA option (the longest edge of the hedge must be parallel to the field).Must be on your holding or under your control/responsibility, on a claimed or adjacent to a claimed parcel, that is BPS eligible and claimed on your SAF.Can be any height.Must be no wider than 3m from the centre of the hedge.Must be established before the 15th May.Do not trim or lop branches between 1st March & 31st August annually, except for road safety reasons.No cultivations within 2m of the centre line of the hedge unless establishing a green cover, where one does not exist (does not include arable crops or arable under sown with grass).No applications of fertilisers, manures, slurries or pesticides with 2m of the centre line of the hedge.If the hedge forms a boundary between two fields half the hedge should be claimed against each field, similar to a shared hedge between two separate farm businesses.The weighting factor for hedges is 1 linear metre to provide 10m2 of EFA contribution which is the highest multiplier when compared to other options available.
For every 100m of hedgerow you will generate 0.10ha of EFA. The management for EFA is in line with current GAEC requirements.
EFA agro-forestry
The second new option is EFA agro-forestry (EFAAF). To be eligible for claiming as EFA/greening the woodland must meet the following requirements:
Must have been BPS eligible, arable land in 2015.Must have been planted under a FGS (Pillar 2) scheme since 2015.Ensure the woodland is still subject to an agreement with the Forestry Commission.The weighting factor is 1 to 1, so 1ha of agro-forestry is equal to 1ha of EFA/greening.
EFA field margins
Previously there were two options for margins - field margins and buffer strips. These have been combined to form EFA field margins (EFAFM). The rules are a mixture of the previous separate options and care should be taken to ensure you are meeting the requirements of the new field margins, with the main differences being:
Do not clean ditches and spread the spoil on any areas which have been claimed as an EFAFM – previously only applicable if claimed as a buffer.Do not graze the margin if it contains or is adjacent to a watercourse, if not they can be grazed after the 15th July.The margins can be cut after the 15th July and used for silage/hay.EFA fallow
Under the fallow option (EFAFAL), maintenance of field drains is now permitted between the 15th January to the 15th March.
Maintenance is defined as investigation (inspection pits, etc) and replacement of pipes or tiles where existing ‘bursts’ have been identified. In exceptional cases, subject to approval you may also carry out works between 15 March to the 15 July.
To obtain permission you need prior written approval from your local area office for essential and immediate works identified after periods of heavy rain.
Another subtle change introduced for 2018 is to allow five-year-old temporary grass to be claimed as fallow the following year, see Table 1.
EFA catch crop
The next option with alterations for the new year is EFA catch crop. You are now prohibited from using plant protection products from the date of harvest of the nurse crop to the 31st December. This means post-harvest no plant protection products can be applied to the under sown grass.
EFA green cover
The main factor previously restricting the use of the EFA green cover option was the deadline of 1st October for ensuring green cover was established – this has been moved back to the 1st November. There continues to be a restriction of no grazing until the 31st December.
EFA nitrogen-fixing crops
Under the option EFA nitrogen-fixing crops option mixtures of nitrogen-fixing crops with other crops for one or both of the EFA nitrogen-fixing crops, you need to ensure the nitrogen-fixing crop is predominant by weight of seed.
There is now a prohibition of the use of plant protection products on all areas of EFA nitrogen-fixing crops from establishment right through to after harvest of the nitrogen-fixing crop. Although this option continues to require the crops to be surrounded by a claimed EFA field margin, grazing and topping, depending on proximity to a watercourse may provide more viable options post-harvest.
With the new year upon us and the start of the 2018 SAF year farmers who have to do greening need to consider their options and quantities to ensure they can continue to meet the 5% requirements. There have been some changes introduced which apply from the 1st January 2018.
The main changes are the introduction of two new options, combined with the merging of field margins and buffers taking the number of options to eight for 2018.
EFA hedges
The first new option available is EFA hedges (EFAH). To be eligible for declaring hedgerows as greening the hedges must meet the following criteria:
Must be at least 20m in length, or less than 20m where it meets another hedge at each end, with gaps of less than 20m included as the ‘hedge’. Be within 5m of arable land OR continuous to a claimed EFA option (the longest edge of the hedge must be parallel to the field).Must be on your holding or under your control/responsibility, on a claimed or adjacent to a claimed parcel, that is BPS eligible and claimed on your SAF.Can be any height.Must be no wider than 3m from the centre of the hedge.Must be established before the 15th May.Do not trim or lop branches between 1st March & 31st August annually, except for road safety reasons.No cultivations within 2m of the centre line of the hedge unless establishing a green cover, where one does not exist (does not include arable crops or arable under sown with grass).No applications of fertilisers, manures, slurries or pesticides with 2m of the centre line of the hedge.If the hedge forms a boundary between two fields half the hedge should be claimed against each field, similar to a shared hedge between two separate farm businesses.The weighting factor for hedges is 1 linear metre to provide 10m2 of EFA contribution which is the highest multiplier when compared to other options available.
For every 100m of hedgerow you will generate 0.10ha of EFA. The management for EFA is in line with current GAEC requirements.
EFA agro-forestry
The second new option is EFA agro-forestry (EFAAF). To be eligible for claiming as EFA/greening the woodland must meet the following requirements:
Must have been BPS eligible, arable land in 2015.Must have been planted under a FGS (Pillar 2) scheme since 2015.Ensure the woodland is still subject to an agreement with the Forestry Commission.The weighting factor is 1 to 1, so 1ha of agro-forestry is equal to 1ha of EFA/greening.
EFA field margins
Previously there were two options for margins - field margins and buffer strips. These have been combined to form EFA field margins (EFAFM). The rules are a mixture of the previous separate options and care should be taken to ensure you are meeting the requirements of the new field margins, with the main differences being:
Do not clean ditches and spread the spoil on any areas which have been claimed as an EFAFM – previously only applicable if claimed as a buffer.Do not graze the margin if it contains or is adjacent to a watercourse, if not they can be grazed after the 15th July.The margins can be cut after the 15th July and used for silage/hay.EFA fallow
Under the fallow option (EFAFAL), maintenance of field drains is now permitted between the 15th January to the 15th March.
Maintenance is defined as investigation (inspection pits, etc) and replacement of pipes or tiles where existing ‘bursts’ have been identified. In exceptional cases, subject to approval you may also carry out works between 15 March to the 15 July.
To obtain permission you need prior written approval from your local area office for essential and immediate works identified after periods of heavy rain.
Another subtle change introduced for 2018 is to allow five-year-old temporary grass to be claimed as fallow the following year, see Table 1.
EFA catch crop
The next option with alterations for the new year is EFA catch crop. You are now prohibited from using plant protection products from the date of harvest of the nurse crop to the 31st December. This means post-harvest no plant protection products can be applied to the under sown grass.
EFA green cover
The main factor previously restricting the use of the EFA green cover option was the deadline of 1st October for ensuring green cover was established – this has been moved back to the 1st November. There continues to be a restriction of no grazing until the 31st December.
EFA nitrogen-fixing crops
Under the option EFA nitrogen-fixing crops option mixtures of nitrogen-fixing crops with other crops for one or both of the EFA nitrogen-fixing crops, you need to ensure the nitrogen-fixing crop is predominant by weight of seed.
There is now a prohibition of the use of plant protection products on all areas of EFA nitrogen-fixing crops from establishment right through to after harvest of the nitrogen-fixing crop. Although this option continues to require the crops to be surrounded by a claimed EFA field margin, grazing and topping, depending on proximity to a watercourse may provide more viable options post-harvest.
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