EFA fallow - when can I spray the blackgrass?

franklin

New Member
From the most recent handbook:

"Managing fallow land during the EFA fallow period
During the EFA fallow period (1 January 2015 to 30 June 2015), farmers can do the following on
their fallow land:
• use herbicides and cultivation to control weeds (for example, Blackgrass, Ragwort,
Hemlock)
• carry out drainage work
• sow wild bird seed mixes and/or nectar sources
• top green cover or previous crop residue
• sow grass, if they can show that it is being sown for reasons other than agricultural
production, such as where it is sown under an agri-environment scheme. This will apply to
fallow land counted for both the crop diversification and EFA rules.
They must not:
• harvest or graze it
• plant or sow any crop on it (except wild bird seed mixes, pollen sources or nectar sources)
• apply fertiliser or farmyard manure (except where a wild bird seed mix, a pollen source or a
nectar source has also been sown)
Managing fallow land outside the EFA fallow period
Outside the fallow period, farmers can use fallow cover as they wish (except for grazing or
harvesting wild bird seed mixes).
If fallow land has grass cover, it can be grazed or made into hay/silage after 30 June. "

So, you can spray it, cultivate it, roll it, spray it again, subsoil it, mole plough it, spray it, flail it, plough it. But you cant harvest anything; graze anything; or plant anything but wild bird mix until 30th June.
 

franklin

New Member
I am confident enough in my reading of the rules to go out next week and top my temporary grass fallow, but I would be equally happy to spray the lot off and black it over with the plough.

That quote is from p.41 & 42 from the v1.00 edition that I have.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,286
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top