DAERA secures derogation in three-crop rule for Northern Ireland

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has welcomed EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan’s announcement of his intention to agree a derogation from the requirements for crop diversification for arable farmers in Northern Ireland in 2018.

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The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has welcomed EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan’s announcement of his intention to agree a derogation from the requirements for crop diversification for arable farmers in Northern Ireland in 2018.

This follows the Department’s submission of a formal request to the EU Commission last month.

Welcoming the announcement Head of Food and Farming at DAERA, Norman Fulton, said: “The Department took this action because it recognised that extreme weather during the summer of 2017, coupled with sustained rainfall and periods of frost and snow during the winter and early spring of 2017/18, has meant that some arable farmers in Northern Ireland, through no fault of their own, have been unable to plant the normal range of crops that would enable them to meet the Crop Diversification requirement to qualify for the Greening payment.

“Whilst formal approval from the EU Commission for the derogation is now awaited, Commissioner Hogan’s announcement will help to allay some of the concerns expressed by our arable farmers and provide reassurance that, subject to them meeting all other Greening requirements, their inability to meet crop-diversification requirements in 2018 will not impact on their Greening payment. We would advise that where cropping options to allow farmers to be compliant with Crop Diversification rules are not available due to adverse weather, growers can make crop choices that best suit their current situation, even if this leaves them non-compliant with the normal Crop Diversification rules.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The introduction of Greening, and specifically Crop Diversification, places obligations on farmers with between 10 and 30 ha of arable land to grow two crops, with the main crop not exceeding 75% of the total eligible arable land on the holding.  For farmers with more than 30 ha, three crops must be sown and the main crop cannot exceed 75% of the total eligible arable land on the holding and the two main crops cannot exceed 95% of the arable land. 
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