Transporting scrap

Unless there a revision to the rules there has been a supposed 15 mile limit for a long time.

7. Operator licensing​

You may need a goods vehicle operator’s licence if your business uses vehicles, including tractor and trailer combinations, with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes, to move goods of any description unless an exemption applies. Licences can be either ‘standard’, to carry goods for ‘hire or reward’, or ‘restricted’, to carry only your own goods.

The most likely exemptions from operator licensing for tractor owners are if the tractor:

  • is used solely for moving farming implements or articles (any distance), provided the tractor operator owns or is employed by the relevant farm
  • is used to haul farm produce within 15 miles (24.14 km) of the farm, or forestry estate (provided the tractor operator owns or is employed by the relevant farm)
  • is only used on the road to pass between land owned by the tractor owner, up to a maximum of 6 miles per week
A full list of the exemptions from Operator Licensing can be found in Schedule 3 of The Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995 (as amended).

If these exemptions don’t apply, (for example a tractor is used to move agricultural produce more than 15 miles from the farm, or to haul non-agricultural goods) the tractor operator is likely to require an operator’s licence. The operator licensing regime is involved and we recommend consulting the available guidance if you think that it may apply to you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ory-requirements-a-brief-guide-september-2017

So someone using a tractor and trailer to haul grain to a mill should be doing less than 15 miles to get there or else he is technically breaking the rules?

The exemptions listed do allow contractors to take machines (not haul product) any distance between farms, however.
 
IIRC the 15 miles only applies to haulage outbound, I believe you can fetch something onto the farm from lands end to John o groats.

'I am sorry officer, I was hauling this scrap machinery to my farm, only I had become lost, found I was going the wrong direction and so was looking for a nice spot to do a U turn, next thing I know I'm the wrong side of Exeter and parked on your weighbridge'.
 
Location
Devon
Unless there is a revision to the rules there has been a supposed 15-mile limit for a long time.
I agree it should be Ok to move the straw But the person I was chatting to was saying it's not yours once the hammer falls so your carting it but yes I think you would be right.

7. Operator licensing​

You may need a goods vehicle operator’s licence if your business uses vehicles, including tractor and trailer combinations, with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes, to move goods of any description unless an exemption applies. Licences can be either ‘standard’, to carry goods for ‘hire or reward’, or ‘restricted’, to carry only your own goods.

The most likely exemptions from operator licensing for tractor owners are if the tractor:

  • is used solely for moving farming implements or articles (any distance), provided the tractor operator owns or is employed by the relevant farm
  • is used to haul farm produce within 15 miles (24.14 km) of the farm, or forestry estate (provided the tractor operator owns or is employed by the relevant farm)
  • is only used on the road to pass between land owned by the tractor owner, up to a maximum of 6 miles per week
A full list of the exemptions from Operator Licensing can be found in Schedule 3 of The Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995 (as amended).

If these exemptions don’t apply, (for example a tractor is used to move agricultural produce more than 15 miles from the farm, or to haul non-agricultural goods) the tractor operator is likely to require an operator’s licence. The operator licensing regime is involved and we recommend consulting the available guidance if you think that it may apply to you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ory-requirements-a-brief-guide-september-2017
If the above is correct then most farms in the UK will be operating illegally and if they enforce it then many will be forced out of business as they will be unable to get an operators licence for one reason or another ( like the local incomers objecting over narrow access/ tractors too big etc etc )

On the straw, it belongs to you untill you are paid for it which will not be at least for another week at most livestock markets.

And if the above is correct then how does it apply to contractors? they would surely all need an operators licence unless only working within 15 miles of their base??
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
If the above is correct then most farms in the UK will be operating illegally and if they enforce it then many will be forced out of business as they will be unable to get an operators licence for one reason or another ( like the local incomers objecting over narrow access/ tractors too big etc etc )

On the straw, it belongs to you untill you are paid for it which will not be at least for another week at most livestock markets.

And if the above is correct then how does it apply to contractors? they would surely all need an operators licence unless only working within 15 miles of their base??

The above is correct, in the end we all agreed that the 15 mile radius rule should be the same for red diesel rules as operator licensing for clarity.
The 15 mile radius rule only applies to produce you are transporting for sale. You can move produce etc any distance between two parcels of land you farm.
You can take agricultural waste to be disposed any distance. Your scrap metal would have to be 100% agricultural to be allowed.
 

steh

Member
Livestock Farmer
Contractors or ok as its field to farm operations on the farm there contracted to.
I know what you are saying about having to get an operator's license if you do live somewhere like that (a problem around here too).
Though you can usually sneck a restricted license past them.
We see both sides having a farm and haulage plant hire side to our family business.
We have an 18-toner for the farm livestock and can get straw with one of the units and flats but it's often cheaper to get the straw delivered than go for it when you cost the man-hours and pence per mile we do bring in sawdust and stock feed with the tippers as it can often fit in to be a backload.

If you are doing millage on roads you should expect to have to some rules you see some bits of kit that are not fit to be on the road, (as you do in all road transport) modern kit is big fast and heavy, roads or busy and accidents have risen.
We stick to under 40k tractors on the plant hire side so we don't need ABS on the trailers which can be a pain in the ass to keep working.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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

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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/
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