Legislation & Regulation

Reminder to microchip your horse, pony or donkey by 1 October 2020

From October 2020 it will be mandatory for all owners to microchip their horses, ponies and donkeys. The new Central Equine Database will then allow local authorities and police to track down the owners of dumped horses and lost or stolen horses will be reunited with their owners more easily.  The Central Equine Database logs all domesticated horses, including those required to be microchipped by October 2020.   If horse owners do not microchip their horses by October 2020 they could face sanctions from their local authority including a compliance notice and, as a last resort, a fine of up to £200.

Download the booklet NVZs: Back to Basics

Farming Advice Service has produced a technical article called ‘NVZ: Back to basics’. This provides a simple guide to the NVZ requirements, including the rules for applying organic and manufactured fertiliser, the forthcoming closed periods and storage of organic manure. The article can be downloaded for free from the FAS website. If you are claiming Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments and any of your land is in an NVZ, you must comply with the requirements or your payments could be reduced.

Greening requirements to be removed for 2021

Farmers in England are set to benefit from a reduced administrative burden next year, as the government plans to end the need to comply with greening requirements and begin the move towards the new Environmental Land Management scheme.  These changes will not affect the overall payment received farmers as the money will instead be added to entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme.  The agricultural transition period will last for seven years and will see direct payments to farmers in England phased out and replaced with a new system that rewards farmers for delivering public goods, such as tree or hedge planting, river management to mitigate flooding, or creating or restoring habitats for wildlife.

Check list for testing of pesticide application equipment

The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 state that all types of pesticide application equipment must be tested to certain timescales depending on the age of the machine. It is also a requirement for Red Tractor Assurance. If you have been unable to get your sprayer tested during Covid-19 you should contact your certification body for specific guidance. For sprayers that have not been tested within the relevant timescales, NSTS recommends using the operator check list which can be downloaded here.

No changes for cross compliance in 2020

There are no changes to the cross compliance rules in 2020.  The rules set out in the guidance apply for the whole of 2020. Therefore, you must meet the rules throughout the year.  The EU regulations will continue to apply directly in the UK until we exit the EU or until the end of any implementation period. After this time, the EU regulations will be brought into UK law by The European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018.  To view the key dates for 2020 please visit this page.

Farming Rules for Water

The new Farming Rules for Water will be enforceable from 2 April 2019.  The rules standardise good farming practices that many farmers are already demonstrating following on from the Codes of Good Agricultural Practice. The rules are separate from cross-compliance. Full details of the new rules are available here.

Updated information on riparian rights

Updated information on your responsibilities and rules to follow for watercourses on or near your property, and permissions you need to do work around them, have been placed on the Gov.uk website. Visit the link below to view the information.

New rules for fertilizer management to protect water quality

From April 2018 all farmers in England will need to follow a new set of farming rules for water. New regulations will now be made which will give these rules legal force from then. The rules will:
• promote good practice in managing fertilisers and manures through eight rules covering planning and use, storage and application of fertilisers and manures and soil erosion measures
• encourage land managers to take reasonable precautions to prevent diffuse pollution from runoff or soil erosion
• require soil tests at least every 5 years on cultivated land
• protect land within 5 metres of watercourses from significant soil erosion by preventing poaching by livestock.
Further details can be found on the website below.

Warwickshire re-classified as fully in the Edge Area for TB

Following a public Defra TB consultation held in 2016, and an informal consultation held in October 2017, Defra has announced enhanced cattle measures in the Edge Area; which will take effect from January 2018.
The changes from January 2018 include re-classification of Edge Area counties. The following part Edge, part High Risk Area split counties will be re-classified as fully in the Edge Area
Warwickshire and Oxfordshire
East Sussex, Derbyshire and Cheshire

Reminder on water abstraction licences

If your current water abstraction licence is due to expire, and you want to continue to abstract, you need to apply for a new licence at least 3 months before the existing licence expires.
For more information on applying for a water abstraction licence, please visit the website below.

Dewlap tags

Please be reminded that Dewlap tags, which are inserted through the dewlap of cattle, are legally classed as a mutilation (Animal Welfare Act 2006). Using the dewlap tag is therefore illegal and if farms are found to be using these tags at an RPA or APHA inspection it will be considered a rectifiable breach and will incur a penalty.