No ‘crop’ sown, no single payment

THE European Commission has stipulated that a crop (including grassland) must be grown on all tillage land, unless it is set-aside, as part of the cross-compliance requirements to qualify for decoupled single farm payments.

In general, farmers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that soil is covered by vegetation or else ploughed, with the intention of sowing a crop as soon as possible.

If the ratio of permanent pasture to total agricultural area falls by more than 5%, it will be necessary to obtain prior authorisation to plough. If the ratio change is greater than 10%, it will be necessary to re-convert land into permanent pasture.