Cross Compliance

Cross Compliance also involves maintaining land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC). The summary below deals with the environmental issues connected to Cross Compliance. For more information download A Guide for Farmers - your environmental responsibilities under Cross Compliance PDF (663 KB) or contact College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise to attend a Cross Compliance Workshop.

• kill, injure, capture or keep any wild bird without a licence in authorised circumstances;
• destroy, damage, remove or keep their nests or eggs;
• disturb birds while nesting unless they have a licence to do so.

• pick , cut, collect, destroy or dig up protected plants;
• disturb, kill or injure protected animals, destroy or obstruct their breeding places or places of shelter;
• introduce invasive non-native species into the wild.

• Pesticides and spent sheep dip are classified as dangerous substances;
• Authorisation for disposal is required;
• Sheep dip baths must be sited, maintained and operated properly;
• Records of disposal must be maintained.

• Restrictions on soil type, land use and application methods;
• Record keeping required.

• Land must not be severely trampled or poached.
• Cultivated land must have either a crop, stubble or grass cover or is left ploughed or disced over the following winter.
• No cultivations should be carried out if soil is waterlogged.

• Supplementary feeding should not take place on semi-natural habitats (woodland, scrubland, moorland, wetlands, species rich grassland) or archaeological sites or within 10 metres of a waterway or 50 metres of a borehole used for public water supply.
• Sacrifice areas should comply with the requirements above and in addition they must not be located near an archaeological site but only on improved grassland / arable land that is flat. The area must be ploughed and sown the following spring. Natural regeneration and surface seeding will be permitted providing there is at least 90 percent grass / crop coverage by the end of the spring.
• Feeding sites should be rotated and managed to prevent excessive trampling, poaching or vehicle rutting.

• Overgrazing must be avoided on grassland and semi-natural habitats (as listed above) or archaeological sites with livestock in such numbers as would damage the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation or destroy the archaeological feature.
• Signs of overgrazing are grassland with a sward height less than 3 cm, rough grassland/moorland with a sward height less than 5 cm, a high density of cattle/sheep dung, frequent areas of bare ground and /or evidence of run-off or standing water.

• Land abandonment is forbidden under Cross Compliance. Land should therefore be managed to avoid the infestation of species which degrade the agricultural and environmental value of land. These include Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed and noxious weeds such as dock, thistle, ragwort and wild oat.
• Rhododendren and gorse should be controlled but not within the bird nesting season (1 March – 31 August).
• Land must be capable of agricultural production at the start of the growing season. There is no minimum stocking rate unless in receipt of the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance Payment (0.2 LU/ha of eligible stock)
• Exceptions to this measure include management of areas of land where grazing is either prohibited or restricted such as ASSIs, Natura 2000 sites, scheduled Archaeological Sites and certain agri-environment scheme agreements.

• . This includes infilling or laying drainage pipes in open sheughs.
• No hedge cutting / coppicing or laying should take place during the bird nesting season (1 March to 31 August) unless there is a health and safety or animal welfare reason. Sheugh maintenance is permitted during this period but is recommended during the autumn to late winter. Avoid deepening and widening the sheugh.

• All semi-natural habitats (woodland / scrub, wetlands, species rich grassland, moorland), ponds, shelterbelts, trees protected under a Tree Preservation Order, archaeological features and earth science sites.
• No new drainage, ploughing, clearing, levelling, reseeding or cultivations on uncultivated land or semi-natural habitats without prior approval from DARD. Contact telephone number 028 90 524130 for further information.
• Any farmer wishing to infill any of his land with soil / spoil, hardcore or any waste material must apply to the Dept of Environment Special Studies Unit, Planning Service Tel. 028 90 416892 for further information.

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