FWAG SouthWest Advisers can help you meet environmental regulations by going through your paperwork and taking a farm tour.

Visits are tailored to your needs and can cover multiple regulations including: Cross compliance, Greening, NVZ’s and stewardship agreements.

 

Stewardship Scheme MOT

Significant areas of the region are covered by ELS, OELS and HLS agreements helping to support environmentally beneficial management.
Management prescriptions can be confusing and need reviewing to ensure that they are being met. Some prescriptions need adapting temporarily or permanently to achieve the best environmental outcome or to reflect changes to the farm business.

An adviser can visit your farm and …

• Check that you are meeting the management requirements of the scheme.
• Help address management issues that have arisen.
• Assist with derogation requests to amend prescriptions.
• Provide you with feedback on how your scheme is performing for the environment.
• Help you complete capital works claim forms.
• Advise on establishment and management of options.
• Recommend seed mixes.
• Liaise with Natural England on your behalf.
• Make sure the farm business and the environment are getting maximum value from the scheme.

 

Cross Compliance MOT

Cross compliance has been with us since 2005 and most farmers are familiar with its requirements. However, these rules and some legislation has changed over time and it is easy to fall behind with the latest requirements.
A visit from one of our advisers can give you peace of mind and may prevent breaches and the resulting fines in the case of an inspection.

An advisor can visit your farm and ...

• Take you through all the GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition) standards and SMR’s (Statutory Management Requirements), ensuring you are up to date with what it covers.
• Make sure the necessary guidance booklets and farm records are in place.
• Help you identify anything you need to do on the farm or in the office.
• Undertake a quick review of your NVZ records (see our NVZ Review Service below for more detailed help).

Greening Advice

The changes brought in by the latest CAP reform come into force as of 1st January 2015. These changes include the introduction of Greening, which will affect many farmers with 10ha or more of arable land. There is also new terminology to understand and new definitions for old terms, as well crop diversification rules and Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs).

An advisor will meet with you and …

• Work out which greening measures effect you.
• Help you identify how you can provide 5% EFA on your arable land.
• Explain the five EFA options, their environmental benefits and agricultural considerations.
• Work out how EFAs can be aligned with existing ELS and HLS options.
• Make sure that greening counts for the environment.

 

NVZ Review

If you farm in an NVZ area you could be inspected and have your NVZ records checked as part of SPS Cross Compliance. Unsurprisingly this is an area where inspection failures are common, often due to incomplete records or errors in record keeping rather than failure to meet the NVZ limits.

A FACTs qualified FWAG SW adviser can visit your farm to:

• Check through your previous year’s records, ensuring they are complete.
• Help with the current year’s records.
• Provide templates for NVZ record keeping to help you keep up to date in future.
• Help with calculations such as Livestock manure N farm limit, slurry storage and Nitrogen Max.