Appendix 4 - Standards of Good Farming Practice
As referred to at section 5.1, you must agree to abide by Standards of Good Farming Practice across the whole of your farm, which includes any of your land which is not part of your ELS agreement. This means that:
- You must comply with the appropriate requirements of:
- The Forestry Act 1967,
- the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the Ancient Monuments (Class Consents) Order 1994,
- the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981,
- Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 and the Plant Protection Products Regulations 1995,
- the Heather and Grass etc (Burning) Regulations 1986,
- the Crops Residues (Burning) Regulations 1993,
- the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Control of Pollution (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 1991 (as amended 1997),
- the Clean Air Act 1993,
- the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994,
- the Hedgerow Regulations 1997,
- the Groundwater Regulations 1998, and
- the Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (England and Wales) Regulations 1998.
A brief explanation of what is required by this legislation is available below.
- You must tell us if you are convicted of an offence under any of this legislation, or are the subject of a statutory enforcement notice. Where such conviction, or the activities to which the statutory enforcement notice relates, adversely affect compliance with your ELS agreement, you may be breaking this agreement and we can take action as at section 7.2 above and appendix 5;
- You must retain copies of the Codes of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Soil, Water and Air, and any amendments, for the duration of your agreement. The Codes are published by Defra (PB 0617 Soil, PB 0587 Water and PB 0618 Air).
You must also comply with the following verifiable standards across the whole of your farm:
- overgrazing: you must avoid overgrazing, which means grazing your land so as to adversely affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree. Cases of suspected overgrazing will be investigated and failure to follow subsequent professional advice would be a breach of your agreement.
- undergrazing: stock should be distributed across your farm to ensure that under-utilisation is avoided: this is defined as where annual growth is not being fully utilised, or where scrub or coarse vegetation is becoming evident, and this is detrimental to the environmental interests of the site. Cases of suspected undergrazing will be investigated and failure to follow subsequent professional advice would be a breach of your agreement.
- supplementary feeding: where supplementary feeding is permitted by your agreement, the feed must be provided in such a way that the vegetation is not excessively trampled or poached by animals or rutted by vehicles used to transport feed.
- field boundaries: you must not remove or destroy any hedges or stone walls on your farm except by special derogation and subject to any necessary consent under the Hedgerow Regulations 1997. Enforcement will be through visual assessment of any recent damage during field checks.
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs): if you have an SSSI on your farm, you are required to give written notice to English Nature if you want to undertake any 'operations likely to damage the special interest' of your SSSI (these are listed on your SSSI notification papers). These operations can only proceed once you have received written consent from English Nature.
- silage and slurry stores: if you construct a new silage or slurry store you must notify the Environment Agency before starting to use it. Defra will check to see if this notification has taken place.
- sheep dip: if you propose to dispose of sheep dip on your farm you must obtain prior authorisation from the Environment Agency. Checks will be made to see that either an authorisation has been obtained or that there is a reason why no authorisation is needed in that individual case.
- hedgerows: you must not trim hedgerows on your farm between 1 March and 31 July. Enforcement will be through visual evidence of recent damage during any checks carried out in these months.
What do I have to do under the legislation at a) above
As part of Good Farming Practice, you must comply with the appropriate requirements of the different pieces of legislation. If Defra is notified about the serving of an enforcement notice or a successful prosecution under any piece of this legislation, we will assess the extent to which the breach has prejudiced compliance with your agreement. If necessary, we will then apply a penalty, proportionate to the nature of the breach.
- 1. Forestry Act 1967
- You must not fell trees without a licence from the Forestry Commissioners. They can investigate unauthorised felling and, where convictions are obtained, they can require replanting of the land on which the felling took place.
- 2. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the Ancient Monuments (Consents) Order 1994/1381
- You must not knowingly or recklessly, or without lawful excuse, cause damage to a designated protected monument. Works that are not permitted, unless a written consent has been granted by English Heritage, on such sites include ploughing of pasture, deep cultivations, sub-soiling, drainage works, planting or removal of trees, hedges and shrubs, turf cutting, erection of fences or barriers, certain building works, laying of paths or foundations.
- 3. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
- You must not disturb or kill certain protected animals, birds and plants which are listed in the Schedules to this Act. You are prohibited from killing certain game species within specified close seasons and certain methods of killing or taking of wild birds are prohibited.
- 4. Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (together with the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, and the Plant Protection Products Regulations 1995/3241)
- You must not use an unlawful pesticide or any that does not have a current approval under domestic or EC licensing provisions. You are obliged to store all pesticides safely, follow label instructions and abide by the recommended best practice as set down in the statutory code of practice for the safe use of pesticides on farms and holdings, known as the 'Green Code'. You should not apply pesticides without the requisite training and certification.
- 5. Heather and Grass etc. (Burning) Regulations 1986/428
- Any burning must be carried out on a rotational basis, at a frequency not greater than seven years, and over an area not exceeding 5% of the total area of the subject fields in any one year. There are different periods of the year when burning is prohibited, depending on whether or not you farm in an upland area (restrictions in certain areas start after 31 March). Licences to burn at restricted times may be granted in exceptional circumstances. The Heather & Grass Burning Code must always be complied with. Adjacent owners and occupiers must be informed at least 24 hours before a burn, and there are special provisions for notification for burns on Common land.
- 6. Crops Residues (Burning) Regulations 1993/1366
- With very limited exceptions, you cannot burn cereal straw or stubble, dry harvested field bean, pea or oil seed haulm. If you are entitled to rely on an exception (for instance broken bales or where you have been served with a Plant Health notice), there is a list contained within the Regulations of the precautions that must be complied with when burning.
- 7. Water Resources Act 1991 and the Control of Pollution (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 1991/324 (as amended in 1997)
- You must apply for all necessary abstraction or impounding licences or necessary discharge consents from the Environment Agency and comply with all requirements imposed. You must have fit and proper storage for your slurry and oil in accordance with the 1991 Regulations. If you are served with a Notice by the Environment Agency where they are of the opinion that there is a significant risk of pollution to controlled waters (which includes all freshwaters and groundwater), you must follow the terms of such Notice.
- 8. Clean Air Act 1993
- You must not burn rubber tyres, polythene, plastic bags or containers or other waste materials which cause emission of dark smoke on trade premises (which include all farms). Waste must be disposed of in appropriate ways that do not damage the environment (in particular see the Defra Codes of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Air and Soil referred to above).
- 9. Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994/2716
- These Regulations deal with the conservation of specially designated conservation sites and certain methods of taking or killing wild animals are prohibited. Certain species of plant are protected, and it is possible to apply for licences to cover specific derogations, but only where there are no satisfactory alternatives available. If you farm in a Special Area of Conservation or Protection, or if you have entered into a Management Agreement, you must adhere to any restrictions that apply.
- 10. Hedgerow Regulations 1997/1160
- You cannot remove, without permission from your local planning authority, any hedges on agricultural land which are at least 20 metres in length, are over 30 years old and contain certain specified species of plant. Permission will not be given where the hedge is important. If you have any doubts or need to ask about any licence that is required before you take action to remove any part of a hedge, you should contact your local planning authority.
- 11. Groundwater Regulations 1998/2746
- If you cause or knowingly permit disposition of substances that include mineral oils, organo-phosphorous compounds, cadmium, hydrocarbons and biocides from entering groundwater without an authorization you are committing an offence.
- 12. Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (England and Wales) Regulations 1998/1202 as amended by 2002/26146
- Since 2002, the vast majority of land (over 80%) in England has been designated as being a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone. You are responsible for establishing whether your farm is within such a zone and, if so, you must be aware of and comply with the programme of nitrogen fertiliser and organic manure application restrictions contained in the first schedule to these Regulations. You must take account of the particular land use, soil conditions, type and slope, climatic conditions, rainfall and irrigation. You must follow the detailed requirements of the Regulations in order to assess any spreading restrictions that apply.