Fallow after grass leys

Does anyone know where I can find the rules regarding grass leys (temporary grass) being left fallow after the four year period of temporary grass? As I do not wish them to become permanent grass, but as yet do not know what best to plant next year.
 

serf

Member
Location
warwickshire
Thanks for the reply, just concerned that temporary grass could then be considered as PP if period exceeded
I'm no expert on the subject but as things stand at min old PP seems to be able to be turned over without to much bother .

Things may change if these poxy green targets are policed diff with new schemes in progress.
 

upnortheast

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Not a problem. We generally have circa 8 year cycle with grass. & it goes PP Cereals TG with no probs.

Talk was they would monitor the amount of PP nationally & may bring in rules if it was decreasing significantly.
Havn`t heard that mentioned recently
 
Thanks, am sure I read somewhere that after four years TG is regarded as PP then difficult to move back to arable.

But if I declare the current TG as fallow is this enough to stop it becoming PP?
 

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
At Groundswell this year, John Cherry said, he puts ground into herbal leys for four years (so he is able to return it to the arable rotation), I was chatting to the woman camping next to me (she was a wildlife/environmentalist from Cornwall - worked advising farmers) and she said, that four year idea was wrong, you could keep it in the ground for five years and still return it to arable after. I don't know why she said that, but she was adamant and seemed very on the ball with rules and regs.
 

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
It's only a problem if you have a diverse pasture, wild flowers and meadow grasses as long as it's predominantly Ryegrass you will be OK even if then inspect it
Reading Derrick's comment, I can see a flaw in what I wrote, as a herbal ley would have lots of wild flowers and be diverse, so in John's case I would return it to arable, however, if it was a ryegrass rich ley I would leave it a further year.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Reading Derrick's comment, I can see a flaw in what I wrote, as a herbal ley would have lots of wild flowers and be diverse, so in John's case I would return it to arable, however, if it was a ryegrass rich ley I would leave it a further year.
I've no idea if they are flowers you have sown yourself , but a herbal ley would not normally contain wild flowers
 

robs1

Member
If its declared as fallow you wont be able to use any grass from it, the spy in the sky will notice if you clear it. Just direct drill some barley into it this autumn and declare it as arable whole crop
 

AndrewM

Member
BASIS
Location
Devon
As others have said, it's only a problem if the grass is uncultivated natural meadows or you have been paid by some scheme to revert arable to pasture. Then you have to get an environmental risk assessment to plough it up. If its just a grass field that's been sprayed for weeds and fertilised every year you can plough it up. They only monitor that on a national level.
 

robs1

Member
As others have said, it's only a problem if the grass is uncultivated natural meadows or you have been paid by some scheme to revert arable to pasture. Then you have to get an environmental risk assessment to plough it up. If its just a grass field that's been sprayed for weeds and fertilised every year you can plough it up. They only monitor that on a national level.
At the moment nothing to say it wont change and the way things are going it might well do, not worth the risk
 

AndrewM

Member
BASIS
Location
Devon
The EIA regulations protect rural land in England that’s uncultivated or semi-natural from changes in agricultural activities that might cause damage by:

  • increasing productivity
  • physically changing field boundaries
Uncultivated land is land that has not been cultivated in the last 15 years by:

  • physical means, such as ploughing or an activity that breaks the soil surface
  • chemical means, such as adding fertiliser or soil improvers
Semi-natural land includes priority habitats, heritage or archaeological features, or protected landscapes. It’s usually land that has not been intensively farmed, such as unimproved grassland or lowland heath.



if you only planted grass there 4 years ago you wont be falling into this catergory

Firstly, it is important to note that if the Rural Payment Agency (RPA) define some of your land as ‘Permanent Grassland’, this makes no difference at all as to whether you are allowed to plough it. The RPA’s method of classifying such land is purely based on what has been put on annual subsidy applications. If a return details that a field has been grass on 15th May for 5 consecutive years, it will be classified as Permanent Grassland (even if it has been re-seeded during that period).

The reason they do this is that they have had an obligation from the EU to monitor the level of permanent grassland across the country so they use this very simplistic approach, rather than going to the expense of a more complex system. Whilst having the RPA call your land permanent or temporary grassland does have an impact on certain crop diversification and ecological focus area obligations, it does not mean that land classed as ‘RPA Permanent Grassland’ is burdened with extra restrictions.

 

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