Several changes to greening conditions for farmers from 2018

On 30 June this year, amendments to European Commission Regulation No. 639/2014 came into force, which provide for changes in the conditions for the application of the payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment. Farmers with 15 ha or more of arable land on their holding, in an area corresponding to 5% arable land, will have to meet a number of requirements for the establishment of ecological focus areas (EFAs) from 1 January 2018.

It will be prohibited to use plant protection products in such an ecologically important area.:

– fallow (for a period of 6 months until July 15);

– in an area occupied by catch crops (within the eight-week “holding” period from September 1 to October 31);

– grassland is sown in the area after the main crop is harvested;

– the area occupied by nitrogen-fixing crops (during the growing period, while the crop is in the field).

For the purposes of establishing the ENP Nitrogen-fixing crops can now be sown not only in pure form, but also in a mixture with other crops – cereals or grasses. However, at the same time, it must be ensured that the crop mainly consists of nitrogen-fixing crops. It should be emphasized that for the purpose of establishing the ENP, for example, the area where clover is sown mixed with grasses, it will not be possible to receive voluntary coupled support for protein crops. However, protein crops, such as peas, sown in a mixture with cereals, will be eligible for the requirement to establish an ENP and this area will also be eligible for voluntary coupled support for protein crops.

Fallow land, declared for the purpose of fulfilling the requirement to establish an ENP, must be retained for at least six months and at least until July 15 of the current year.

In order to recognize an area as an ENP, the following area restrictions have been lifted:

– trees growing in groups, clumps of trees and shrubs or piles of stones,

– field edges and buffer strips,

– ditches,

– ponds.

For example, currently a pond with an area of up to 0.1 hectares can be declared as an ENP, but from 2018 this restriction will be lifted, and farmers will also be able to declare ponds of larger areas for ENP purposes. However, only the part of the pond that does not exceed 0.3 hectares will be considered as an ENP.

The width restriction has also been lifted for ditches. Thus, if ditches are determined to be one of the types of ENP in Latvia, then each meter of ditch will provide 10 square meters of ENP, regardless of how wide the ditch is.

From January 1, 2018, the list of parishes whose farmers are exempt from the requirement to establish an ecological focus area will be shortened.This means that 15 parishes and one municipality, which have so far been exempted, will have to ensure compliance with the requirement to establish an ENP from next year, and these are Bērzkalne, Embūte, Feimaņi, Ģibuļi, Ipiķi, Mazozoli, Meņģele, Pededze, Raiskums, Sece, Straupe, Tīnūži, Umurga, Viļķene, Zeltiņi parishes and Ādaži municipality.

In turn, in two parishes – Bērzaune and Lauderi – farmers will be exempted from the requirement to create an ecologically significant area.

Information about forest exemption available –.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture