Money for nothing… not quite

For free range egg producers—unaccustomed as they are to government handouts—the prospect of money coming their way under the Single Farm Payment scheme appears attractive.

But with Defra's announcement of the cross-compliance measures applicable to England (these are the conditions that must be met in order to qualify for SFP) it is clear that they will have some implications for free range egg producers.

Top of the list of will be the condition that has caused so much consternation for the wider farming community—the two metre buffer strips. Effectively this means that farmers must establish a protection zone in fields along hedges, ditches and water courses, measuring two metres from the centre of the hedge or ditch and a minimum of one metre from the edge of the ditch. This zone must not be cultivated or have fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides applied.

So for free range egg producers used to running their electrified perimeter fencing tight to the hedge boundary, then there will be no more spraying to keep the vegetation down—unless of course they pull the fence in the required distance to allow herbicide application.

The rules on buffer strips will not kick in until July next year and Defra is said to be considering a derogation for small fields under two hectares and newly planted hedges.

All farmers must follow new Defra guidance on soil management and in 2006 will be required to draw up a risk-based soil management plan ready for implementation the following year. Hedge cutting will be prohibited from the beginning of March through to the end of July.

New rules on set-aside mean that farmers with temporary grass—classified as grass which has been part of a rotation at some point in the last five years—will be required to set-aside 8% of the area. There will also be rules restricting the ploughing of permanent pasture.

Penalties for not complying with cross compliance measures will range from a 3% reduction in in SFP for breaches caused by negligence, rising to 15% for repeated non-compliance of the same standard and, where it is deemed contravention of the rules is intentional, up to 20% of the payment could be lost. Extreme non-compliance could lead to exclusion from the scheme the following year.

Free range producers with no livestock other than hens, who often sell grazing in the form of grass keep, will be faced with the decision as to who claims the subsidy. While the landowner has the right to the SFP, occupation of the land for more than 10 months will permit the farmer taking the keep to make the claim.

If the free range producer agrees to this option then clearly the loss of the SFP would have to be reflected in the value of the grass keep i.e. it has to be at least worth the value of the subsidy.

But a question mark hangs over future grass keep values under CAP reform. In the past prices paid for keep have been pushed up by farmers hungry for land area in order to qualify for headage and extensification payments. When they are finally removed, will grass values tumble? It may be that for free range producers who choose to claim the SFP themselves, surplus grazing is simply given away free in an effort to keep pastures maintained and tidied.

To the egg producer who has previously been unencumbered with the restraints on farming practice imposed by the common agricultural policy, all this may just seem too complicated and confusing to bother with. But with payments estimated to be worth around £90 an acre by 2012, it should not be dismissed lightly.

Those producers who have not claimed subsidies in the past will receive application forms for SFP next spring. These must be completed and returned by 15 May 2005.