DEFRA promises set-aside advice

DEFRA IS urging farmers considering ploughing up long-term set-aside because they fear it will be reclassified as permanent pasture to hold fire.

The suggestion that DEFRA could classify any set-aside that has been grass for more than five years as permanent pasture has alarmed producers.

This would mean farmers would be restricted in what they could do to the land. They would also have to find alternative ground to satisfy their set-aside requirements.

A DEFRA spokeswoman said officials were aware of the issue and were giving it urgent attention.

“We hope to be in a position shortly to provide some firm guidance and would urge farmers not to take precipitate action in the meantime that might have adverse environmental effects.”

Francis Mordaunt, of farm business consultants Andersons, said he was seeking answers as it would be nonsense to proceed in this way.

“In my view, set-aside is not permanent pasture. Set-aside is a crop type,” he said.

Mr Mordaunt added that he understood farmers may next year be asked to declare if they have ploughed up any permanent pasture.

If on a national basis the area has gone down, then producers could be asked to reinstate it.

Meanwhile, DEFRA has confirmed farmers will not need to leave a 2m margin at the edge of a field where the hedge is 4m wide or more.
 
That‘s because the measurement for the cross-compliance requirement is taken from the middle of the hedge, meaning that a hedge 4m wide would already provide a 2m width either side of its centre point.
 
But farmers must check if the hedge is affected by a ditch, said a spokeswoman for the department.

“If there is a ditch or watercourse next to the hedge, the boundary is measured from the top of the ditch, provided that ditch is seasonally wet – wet at certain times of the year.

“If it is dry, then it is not a proper ditch.” 
 
Leaving a margin wider than the compulsory 2m could benefit farmers applying to the new entry-level stewardship scheme next year, she added.

“If a farmer leaves a further boundary of 1m, 2m and upward beside the hedge, he would be eligible for points – money effectively in return for widening the boundary.”
 
The margins are one the compulsory measures under the cross-compliance in order to receive the new Single Farm Payment.

Farmers must leave a 2m uncropped and uncultivated strip next to hedges, or 1m from the top of a ditch or watercourse.