Mid tier AB6 as a crop for 3 crop rule?

[Scotter]

I'm having trouble getting a definitive answer from rural payments and the farming advice service about the following and wondered if anyone can help.
We have mid tier AB6 extended over winter stubble and I wondered if it classes as a crop to help meet crop diversification (3 crop rule).
We have enough margins to meet the EFA requirement so it's just the 3 crop rule I need help with.

 

[farmerm]

What are you other crops and what will you do when your over winter stubble ends? Fallow counts as a crop providing it is fallow from 1st May to 30th June so if your overwinter stubble remains untouched during that period it would be considered as fallow and be 1 of your 3 crops assuming it is at least 5% of your claim area

I think...


https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claiming-bps-2020-and-greening-payments-in-extreme-weather this might help

 

[dirty harry]

Haven’t done any bps this year yet but I’ve always claimed it as “another “ crop with one of the spare codes (which were something like ac58-63?), seems to work? If you put it as fallow I think you either get a much reduced if any mid tier $? Cheers dh

 

[Scotter]

AB6 is in place until August.
We didn't drill any winter wheat due to the weather so we are looking at a large spring barley acreage as well as our temporary grass. We can get spring wheat seed but its costly and are considering just drilling spring barley if the AB6 counts as a crop as it makes up 20% of our arable area.

 

[farmerm]

Haven’t done any bps this year yet but I’ve always claimed it as “another “ crop with one of the spare codes (which were something like ac58-63?), seems to work? If you put it as fallow I think you either get a much reduced if any mid tier $? Cheers dh

I hadn't taken account for AB3 still being AB3 when the 1st May fallow window beings....!


The current AB3 rules read as follows....

Where this option cannot be used

• on parcels at risk of soil erosion or runoff, as identified on the Farm Environment Record (FER)
• from 1 January 2019, on land already receiving funding for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) declared for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)

I think the correct way is to put it down as FA01 fallow on the BPS form but then go to the "Use Less EFA than available" section and remove this parcel/parcels from your EFA claim. There is then no double claim and you are compliant with the 3 crop requirement.

As I recall I have to do this with Beans, putting land use LG03 automatically adds the area to the EFA claim but if you forget to remove the area from your EFA claim section then you are not permitted to spray the crop!!

 

[Flower Power]

I hadn't taken account for AB3 still being AB3 when the 1st May fallow window beings....!


The current AB3 rules read as follows....

Where this option cannot be used

• on parcels at risk of soil erosion or runoff, as identified on the Farm Environment Record (FER)
• from 1 January 2019, on land already receiving funding for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) declared for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)

I think the correct way is to put it down as FA01 fallow on the BPS form but then go to the "Use Less EFA than available" section and remove this parcel/parcels from your EFA claim. There is then no double claim and you are compliant with the 3 crop requirement.

As I recall I have to do this with Beans, putting land use LG03 automatically adds the area to the EFA claim but if you forget to remove the area from your EFA claim section then you are not permitted to spray the crop!!

That is spot on, you can claim AB6 as fallow for crop diversification but NOT as EFA fallow.

 

[Jungle Bill]

I’ve just seen in our local paper the 3 crop rule is not being enforced in Scotland this year.

 

[Flat 10]

That is spot on, you can claim AB6 as fallow for crop diversification but NOT as EFA fallow.

Yes the OP clearly has 3 crops. Temp grass, spring barley and fallow. As I said on another thread about 3 crop rule, how many people actually are going to be effected as most will have fallow, spring barley and one other.

 

[Scotter]

Thank you for your replies. It confirms what I had been told by defra and the farming advice service, that AB6 does count as a crop even though the land is on the Mid tier scheme. The problem I had is that the people I spoke to seemed unsure and were unwilling to give us anything in writing. Thanks again.