Northern Irish farmers have welcomed a derogation from the Basic Payment Scheme's (BPS) three crop rule following the adverse weather conditions.
With many parts of the UK having experienced the wettest February on record, NI industry bodies called on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to consider a derogation.
The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) urged DAERA to consider the challenges facing arable and horticulture growers while trying to meet their crop diversification requirements.
DAERA Minister, Edwin Poots announced the news, saying: “This winter has seen extremely high levels of rainfall particularly over the December to February period with record amounts being recorded for the month of February.
“I understand the difficulties that this has caused for arable farmers with plantings delayed or abandoned. In these circumstances, I believe that many farmers could not comply with the crop diversification requirements or could do so only with great difficulty.
"Therefore I intend to introduce a derogation from all the crop diversification requirements for 2020 scheme year and will bring forward the necessary legislation to the Assembly in due course for approval.”
The derogation will apply to all farms with over 30 hectares of arable land.
Responding to the announcement, the UFU said the 'much needed' derogation has been 'well received' by farmers in Northern Ireland.
"The derogation will alleviate some of the current pressure on farms during this difficult time," he said.
“DAERA’s derogation will make a huge difference to UFU growers who have faced months of relentless heavy rain, waterlogging and flooding of fields leaving them unable to plant and establish crops for 2020.”
