Set-aside Briefing Notes 2004

April, 2004

Key Set-Aside Dates 15th January Start date for set-aside. Natural regeneration from previous crop or sown cover must be in place. (If the previous crop was still in the ground on 1st October 2003 there is no requirement to establish green cover, but the crop may not be harvested if it is still there on 15th January.) 31st January Last date for lodging non-food contracts sown between 1July and 31 December 2003 with the Rural Payments Agency. 9th February Final date for submission of IACS 9 forms for non-food crops grown on set-aside land. All such crops grown in 2003 should have been collected from the farm and information passed to the RPA. April to Mid July Avoid operations on set-aside land in this period as it could harm nesting birds and other wildlife. If farmers need to take action they should take steps to minimise disturbance to wildlife. 15th April (On or After) Farmers may apply non-selective, non-residual herbicides to set- aside If they do so they may not cut the set-aside between 15 April and 1st July. 15th May Deadline for lodging Area Aid Applications and contracts for non-food crops sown between 1 January and 30 June with the RPA. Most crops on which aid is claimed must be sown by this date.(Exceptions; Maize grown less than 250 m above sea level, sunflowers, to be sown by 31stMay and 15th June for sweetcorn and hemp). If you wish to enter new land into multiannual set-aside (including set-aside you intend planting with short rotation coppice) you must also complete form IACS 31. 1st July (On or After) Farmers may cultivate set-aside land only to control weeds. 15th July (On or After) Farmers may sow cereal, oilseed, protein crops, linseed, forage crops & specified horticultural crops on set-aside land to be harvested after 15th January 2005, provided the land is not to be set-aside in 2005. 15th July to 15th August Green cover remaining must be cut and the mowings left on the field to rot, or be destroyed by 31st August. 31st August End of set-aside period for obligatory set-aside. 1st September to 14th January Farmer’s own or other farmer’s animals can graze set- aside land provided no payment is made. Hay or silage may be made for own use. 16th November to 31st January AAPS payments made.

Other Points of Interest for 2004
Although set at 10% for many years, set-aside area claimed in the UK has varied according weather and cropping conditions. It was 853,379 ha in 2001, 629,014 ha in 2002 and 721,118 in 2003. This represents 19%, 14% and 16% respectively of the total area claimed for under AAPS.

The obligatory set-aside area is reduced to 5 % for 2004 as the EU fears under production after poor harvests.

This is the final year of the Arable area Aid scheme and from 2005 the Single Farm Payment takes over. Decoupled from production, the payment to individual farmers, is based on historic claims in the reference period 2000-2002 in Wales and Scotland and a gradual change from historic to regional area payments in England.

The CAP mid-term Review includes a requirement for 10% set-aside, which can be rotated or left in one place as the present system. However, there is unlikely to be any motivation to increase SAS area from the minimum, as there will be no additional payment.

• Changes to current scheme from 2003 are minimal.
  • With effect from 15 January reduced minimum strip widths and plot sizes for SAS in certain locations are allowed: Minimum set-aside blocks next to permanent watercourses, hedges, ditches, woods, dykes and SSSI are 0.05ha where strips are 6m wide, 0.1ha where 10m strips and 0.3 ha where strip width is 20m
  • Land currently in the Flax/hemp scheme can now be used to meet Set-aside requirement.
  • Energy crops grown on non-IACS land will be eligible for the energy crop supplement of 45 €/ ha

• Set-aside area
  Minimum level for 2004 is 5%. In most cases the maximum area allowed as set-aside is 50 % of eligible land though this can be exceeded where land is planted with multi-annual biomass crops like Short Rotation Coppice and miscanthus. SRC and miscanthus are eligible for establishment grants through the Energy Crops Scheme, ECS.

  Land in the Nitrate Sensitive area scheme, the Habitat scheme and Environmentally sensitive area scheme can count towards set-aside

• Payment rates
  The rates are fixed in Euros and are converted to Sterling each year by the average of the daily Euro/Sterling exchange rates applicable during June.

The figures do not allow for the effects of base area penalties or of modulation. Any base area penalties applicable in 2004 will be fixed at the end of October 2004

Modulation
Modulation is the recycling of a small proportion of direct payments made to farmers under AAPS and other CAP commodity regimes into rural development measures. It was introduced at a flat rate of 2.5% for the 2001 Scheme year, rising to 3% for 2002, to 3.5% for 2003 and 2004, and finally to 4.5% for 2005 and 2006.

Under this system, 3.5% of area payments in respect of 2004, after the deduction of any base area or IACS penalty, is being recycled to help fund the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP). Every pound recycled in this way is matched by a further pound from the Government and the total (about £600 million over seven years) is being returned through the ERDP to the rural economy. Visit www.defra.gov.uk/erdp to see how the ERDP allocate this money!

Definitions
Obligatory set-aside
This covers the area of compulsory set-aside designated for any year, 10% for 2003. It replaces all the previous rotational, non-rotational and flexible schemes. It can be moved or left in the same place.

Voluntary set-aside
Land which is set-aside in excess of the obligatory area, up to a maximum of 50% of AAPS area.

There are three exceptions to this rule, where up to 100% of the claim can be set aside. These are where the entire set-aside area is:

• used for the production of multiannual crops for biomass production, e.g.short rotation coppice;
• ex-Five Year Set-aside Scheme (FYSS) land which has been in continuous set-aside and the same occupancy under AAPS since leaving the FYSS;
• AAPS eligible land which has been taken out of arable production under an agri-environmental scheme (e.g. the Nitrate Sensitive Area Scheme) and has now left that scheme.

Multiannual set-aside
Replaces the old guaranteed set-aside. The same land must be set-aside for a minimum of 5 years, (or 3 years for a farm tenancy, which has less than 5 years to run). In return the farmer is guaranteed not to be affected by any reduction in the basic aid rate or any reduction in yield under the regionalisation plan. Form IACS 31 must be filled in by 15th May. Land in this scheme is subject to either a RPA approved management plan or additional restrictions as follows:

• Cutting between 1April and 31 July is allowed in year 1 to control aggressive weeds but not in second and subsequent years.
• There are a few exceptions to non-application of fertiliser and manure rules.
• If grass is the green cover it may include up to 5% by weight of wild flowers, including trefoil, but not Clover, lucerne or sainfoin as they are seen as too competitive.
• The only permitted crops are multi-annual energy crops for biomass; no other crops such as oilseed rape are permitted.
• Grazing from 1 September to 14 January is allowed as for other set-aside but must not be damaging to the cover.

Details at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/schemes/crpsch.htm