game covers can now be included as main crop

Cutlerstom

Member
Arable Farmer
According to CLA email, game covers can now be included with the main crop in any parcel as long as it is not required for EFA or Crop Diversification.
Just finished measuring them all!!
That's annoying! Always worth a phone call to rpa first if unsure! Out of the 4 questions I had, that was the only one they had an answer for!
 

Goweresque

Member
Location
North Wilts
According to CLA email, game covers can now be included with the main crop in any parcel as long as it is not required for EFA or Crop Diversification.
Just finished measuring them all!!

I rang the @RPA on just this point the other day, and the bloke I spoke basically didn't have a clue, had a copy of the same book in front of him as I did, and was unable to tell me what I should code game cover as, when it wasn't being used as EFA.

In the end I chose fallow, on the basis its ploughed regularly and not used for agricultural production. Still no idea if thats right, but then I don't think the RPA know themselves either.
 

Cutlerstom

Member
Arable Farmer
Surely its what it is i.e. Maize or Kale or a mix or whatever.
Correct. If you need it for EFA, it can be fallow as long as it is only sown with wild bird mix or pollen and nectar. Not so good for driving cover! My game covers are maize, so cannot use them for EFA, so you don't need to split them out of the field in section c, just code it in with the main land use code for the field. Ie, if you have a 10ha total field size comprising of 9.5ha wheat with 0.5 ha of maize you can just put down 10ha of ac66.
 

Cutlerstom

Member
Arable Farmer
Yes but you can put them down separately as fallow for the greening element can you not?
Yes, if you need game cover areas for EFA, you can put them as fallow, sow them with wild bird mix, (not just maize) add them into section d, but you then have to split the field in section c to show whatever the main crop is, and then the fallow area as a split field.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
I put my maize covers in as ac17 from memory, can't be wrong I hope?

That's what mine go in as.

What code are we supposed to use for Wild Bird Seed mixtures? Nectar flower mixes? Mine are all going in as FA01 fallow unless anyone comes up with any better suggestions.

Beware of using game covers as fallow - the fallow period for EFA is 1st Jan 2015 to 30th June 2015. You can only sow a wild bird seed mix or a pollen & nectar mix during that period.
 

AlfM

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Norfolk
All our covers are split into 2 with a patch of AC17 and then some FA01 which is either a mix called Jack Russell or a mix called Pheasant and Finch.
 

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Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer from July will give the sector a clear path forward and boost farm business resilience.

From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Sir Mark Spencer MP Published21 May 2024

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Full details of the expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer available to farmers from July have been published by the...
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