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ARABLE AREA PAYMENTS SCHEME 2003

B. AREA PAYMENTS: GENERAL RULES

10. All farmers correctly claiming AAPS payments will be paid at the rate relevant to the eligible crop that they grow. This section sets out the general rules for claiming on eligible arable crops. It sets out:

• which land is AAPS eligible/ineligible;
• which crops are eligible;
• what sowing dates apply;
• what husbandry standards are required;
• the minimum plot and application sizes; and
• the types of penalties

LAND ELIGIBILITY

What is Eligible for AAPS Aid

11. It is the use which was being made of the land at 31 December 1991 that determines whether it is AAPS eligible, i.e. land that was in arable production or in temporary grass as part of an arable rotation. New occupants should ensure that they know which land is AAPS eligible. They may also need to obtain from the previous occupier copies of relevant IACS documentation, including maps, field numbers and areas, and cropping records. If you are not sure whether your land meets the eligibility criteria, you are strongly advised to check with your local Area Office.

12. Land which was in the 5-year Set-Aside Scheme in 1991/92 is eligible, including land in the woodland and non-agricultural use options, provided that it meets the other AAPS conditions, including the rules about the use which can be made of set-aside land. Land which was in the temporary One-Year Set-Aside Scheme in 1991/92 is also eligible.

13. Land on which area payments were legitimately claimed under the transitional 1992 EC Oilseeds Support Scheme is eligible.

14. Since 1996, land growing the following multi-annual crops on 31 December 1991 has been eligible: artichokes, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, loganberries, blackcurrants, whitecurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries, cranberries, bilberries and other fruits of the genus vaccinium. This additional eligibility is not backdated to 1995 and before for the purpose of AAPS payments.

Special Conditions for Flax and Hemp

15. To be AAPS eligible, all crops must normally be grown on land meeting the eligibility requirements outlined above. As an exception, aid for fibre flax and hemp (but no other crops) may be claimed where these crops are grown on land on which fibre flax or hemp was grown and received payment under the Fibre Flax and Hemp Subsidy Schemes in 1998, 1999 or 2000.

16. If you claim for flax or hemp on land which is eligible only for this purpose, then the corresponding 10% obligatory set-aside requirement must be met from land which is eligible only in respect of flax and hemp. If you claim for flax or hemp on land which meets the normal eligibility requirements, the set-aside requirement must also be met from land which meets the normal eligibility requirement. Please note that you cannot claim any voluntary set-aside on land which is eligible only for flax and hemp.

17. You may not use land which meets the normal eligibility requirements to fulfil the set-aside requirement for land that is only eligible for flax and hemp.

What is Ineligible for AAPS Aid

18. The eligibility restrictions, which apply throughout the EU, are specifically intended to prevent more land coming into subsidised arable production. You can grow arable crops on ineligible land but you cannot claim AAPS aid, including set-aside, on that land. If you do claim on ineligible land, you may lose part or all of your AAPS payments.

19. Permanent grass includes all moorland, rough grazing, pasture and any areas which had been in grass for 5 years or more at 31 December 1991. Even if the grass was reseeded during that period, grazed or cut for hay or silage, it counts as permanent grass. However, temporary grass, i.e. land sown with grass - excluding direct reseeding - between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 1991, is AAPS eligible.

20. Permanent crops means any crops which occupy the soil for a period of 5 years or more and yield crops over several years. This would normally include nursery crops, trees and bushes for the production of fruit and berries, vines, hops and crops grown under glass or in poly tunnels. It does not include strawberries.

21. Woodland includes all commercial and amenity woodland and rotational coppice.

22. Non-agricultural use includes all land used for purposes other than for agriculture unless it was a condition of any planning consent that the land be returned to agricultural use and the land was previously in agricultural use other than permanent grass, permanent crops or woodland.

Exceptions to the Definition of Ineligible Land

23. Exceptionally, if you can prove that land which falls within the normal definition of permanent grass or permanent crops formed part of a normal arable rotation as at 31 December 1991, that land may be AAPS eligible. If you believe that you have land in this category, you should write to your local Area Office with full details of the land and documented evidence of your past cropping plans. Unless, and until, your Area Office informs you in writing that any such land is eligible, you must not assume that it will be eligible or claim AAPS aid on it.

Ineligible Land in Linseed in 1992 or 1993

24. Ineligible land sown with linseed in 1992 or 1993 remains ineligible. If you plan to claim linseed aid in 2003, the land must meet the basic AAPS eligibility criteria.

Switching Eligible Land for Ineligible Land

25. Subject to certain conditions, one-to-one switches of eligible land for ineligible land may be allowed for agronomic, plant health, environmental or compulsory purchase reasons, provided that there is no increase in eligible land as a result. A separate leaflet and application form (IACS 21) are available from your local Area Office.

Field Margins

26. The field boundary is considered to be the area between the recognised centre of the boundary (the fence or midpoint of a hedge, ditch etc) and the edge of the crop, set-aside or forage area. The current IACS Regulation allows you to claim the total Field Identification System (FIS) area of a field where it is fully utilised according to customary agricultural practice.

27. AAPS aid will normally only be paid on field margins where the distance from the centre of the boundary to the edge of the crop is no more than 2 metres at all points throughout its length. However, there is a special EU provision whereby you may exceed the 2 metres limit and base your AAPS claim on full field areas (including any traditional field margins, i.e. hedges, walls and ditches) where these have been an important characteristic feature of the landscape and managed under good agricultural practice. This means that for field margins beyond 2 metres to be acceptable, they would have to have been in place prior to 1988 and managed as part of normal agricultural practice. If the width of any field margin found at inspection is in excess of 2 metres and does not meet the above criteria, then that area in its entirety will be deducted from your claim and penalties applied as appropriate. Please note that if a field boundary is moved and the field margin becomes an internal part of the new field, it should be deducted from the area on which cropping payments or set-aside payments are made. If you have any doubt about your eligibility to take up this option, please contact your local Area Office.

ELIGIBLE CROPS

28. The following crops sown for harvest in 2003 are eligible for AAPS aid provided that you observe the Scheme rules:

Cereals

- any cereals

Linseed

- for oil production

Oilseed rape

- There are special requirements for oilseed rape (see Appendix 4)

Proteins

- peas (but not those intended for human consumption, i.e. vining)

- beans

- sweet lupins

Flax

- grown for fibre

Hemp

- grown for fibre

29. In general, AAPS crops are eligible for payment:

• whether they are grown for grain, seed or fodder;
• when grown for fodder, whether as a mixture or single stand;
• at the appropriate rate when grown for fodder as a single stand;
• at the (lower) cereals rate when grown for fodder as an eligible arable silage mixture, e.g. cereals and peas; and
• when grown for fodder as arable silage and undersown with grass when it is sown separately.

30. Arable silage mixtures consisting of AAPS eligible and AAPS ineligible crops will not receive AAPS aid.

SOWING DATES

31. All crops must be sown by 31 May 2003 except hemp, which must be sown by 15 June 2003. The EC Commission will only allow an extension beyond these sowing dates in exceptional circumstances.

32. If you claim AAPS aid on land which you are prevented from sowing by 31 May owing to exceptional circumstances you must write immediately to your local Area Office explaining the circumstances and seeking a written exemption enabling you to sow later. Exemptions from the sowing date can be granted only if:

• the circumstances which prevented you from sowing are held by the Department to be exceptional and could not reasonably have been foreseen; and
• it is still possible to sow and grow the crop after 31 May in accordance with good agricultural practice.

33. If the exceptional circumstances continue to prevent you from establishing the crop in accordance with good agricultural practice locally, you may still be eligible to receive AAPS aid on the crop which you would otherwise have sown. You must contact your local Area Office as soon as possible in such cases, confirming details in writing.

34. Information about the base area (production ceiling) and payment rates is given in Appendix 3.

HUSBANDRY STANDARDS

Establishment and Maintenance of Crops

35. Under the EU rules, all crops must be sown in line with locally recognised standards, i.e. normal agricultural practice, and maintained until at least the beginning of flowering and until at least the relevant date for the crop as set out in paragraph 36, unless harvesting at full agricultural maturity takes place earlier. This means that the land must be prepared and seed sown in a way which could normally be expected to produce a marketable crop. Also, the crop must be maintained until flowering even if this is after the relevant date shown in paragraph 36.

36. The relevant date for each crop is:

Hemp: crops of hemp must be maintained until at least 10 days after the end of flowering. However, crops may be harvested after flowering provided the crop has been sampled or you have been notified that the crop is not to be sampled. You must thus await notification before the crop may be harvested.

37. You are reminded that legislation exists which controls the production, certification and marketing of certified seed and the use of farm-saved seed. It is illegal to purchase seed that has not been certified and it is also a legal requirement that royalties are paid when farm-saved seed of eligible varieties is sown. The British Society of Plant Breeders Ltd administers the arrangement for the collection of royalties for protected varieties from both certified and farm-saved seed. If you have any issues about farm-saved/certified seed you should contact your local Area Office in the first instance.

Crop Failures

38. You should note that pre-flowering/30 June crop failures, as appropriate for the crop, can now be paid in full provided the Department is satisfied that the failure is as a result of "exceptional weather conditions" and that the crop was sown according to good agricultural practice. In certain circumstances, crop failures resulting from pest damage may also be paid. This will depend on the cause and the management regime followed. In both such cases, you are advised to contact your local Area Office as soon as possible, confirming details in writing.

39. Where a crop failure is the result of bad husbandry, then the claim will be reduced without penalty if the Department has been notified, but with penalty if the crop failure is not notified. Bad husbandry is when no real attempt has been made to prepare a suitable seed bed and/or to establish and grow the crop consistent with good agronomic practice and to a locally recognised standard.

40. You are strongly recommended to keep seed invoices, contractor's bills and any other evidence that you have sown and maintained your crops in accordance with normal agricultural practice.

MINIMUM PLOT AND APPLICATION SIZES

41. The minimum area on which you can apply for AAPS aid is 0.3 hectares.

42. An application may consist of more than one individual plot. The minimum crop plot size is 0.1 hectares - or 0.01 hectares in the case of seed production or research.

PENALTIES

43. If you overstate an area in your claim, claim on areas to which you are not entitled, or do not comply with the EU rules of the scheme, e.g. agricultural production on set-aside land, infringing non-food rules, ineligible silage mixtures, or inadmissible lucrative use of set-aside land, penalties will be applied. These penalties are regulatory requirements and will be set out in full in the 2003 IACS Explanatory Booklet.

44. There are separate penalties for infringing the national management rules for set-aside, e.g. failure to establish a green cover where required, destroying a hedge, or breach of cutting requirements. In such cases, your set-aside payment will be reduced as follows:-

• by 1 for each 0.01 hectare on which rules are infringed, subject to a minimum of 100;
• in the case of linear features, by 1 per metre, subject to a minimum of 100; and
• in the case of environmental features, by 100 for each feature you damage, destroy or remove.

45. Applicants who submit a fraudulent claim or commit fraud or any other criminal offences will be subject to criminal prosecution.

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