Cross Compliance Soil Protection Review

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Cross ComplianceSoil Protection Review

• DAAS. Stinsford Business Centre, Kingston
  Maurward College Dorchester Dorset. DT2 8PY
• Tel [phone] or 01749 822210
• Fax [phone]
• Email daas_at_kmc.ac.uk

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The Soil on Your Farm

• One of the Key Resources of your business
• What is it?
• A complex mix of inert mineral particles,
  organic material and biological ecosystems.
• What do you expect of it?
• Support in every sense of your farming
  enterprises.
• Particular reliance on its capacity to sustain
  the flow of materials vital to plant growth and
  to reprocess and purify waste material that is
  applied or falls on it naturally
• Understand the soil on your farm and use it with
  respect. Good soil management means better
  productivity and environmental benefits

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The Soil on Your Farm (erosion runoff)

• Main factors
• Rainfall
• Soil- texture, structure
• Land form -topography-valleys long unbroken
  slopes
• Land use
• Wind speedgt20mph

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The Soil on Your Farm (Defra erosion risk guide)
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The Soil on Your Farm (Defra erosion run
off/soil wash guide)
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The Soil on Your Farm (Erosion risk category
evidence Defra)
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Single Payment Cross Compliance Obligations
(soils)

• GAEC1 retaining and taking account of Cross
  Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2006
• By 1 /9/06 draw up a Soil Protection Review (SPR)
• GAEC 2 post harvest management of land after
  combinable crops until 1 March

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Single Payment Cross Compliance Obligations (cont)

• GAEC 3 Waterlogged soils
• GAEC 4 Burning of Crop residues
• GAEC 9 Overgrazing/unsuitable supplementary
  feeding on natural and semi natural
  vegetation
• In 2007 continue to comply with GAEC 2,3,4,9
• IMPLEMENT THE ACTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE SPR AND
  UPDATE (at least once per year)

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The Soil Protection Review (SPR) Process (The
Stages)

• Identifying the soil issues
• Deciding on measures to manage and protect soils.
• Completing the farm details and signing off the
  SPR
• Reviewing the outcomes of the chosen management
  and tackling new issues.
• Each year completing an SPR and signing it off.

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1.Identifying Soil Issues.

• You will know your farm, the soils and most
  issues relating to it.
• Cross Compliance Guidance For Soil Management
• i) highlights issues in relation to
  broad soil types, crop or land use, and land
  form.
• ii) Sets out principles of good husbandry.

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1.Identifying Soil Issues (cont) soil types

• Record the broad soil types on your farm
• (Section 2 - Table 1)
• sandy and light silty ?
• medium?
• heavy?
• chalky and limestone
• peaty

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1.Identifying Soil Issues (cont)Soil Texture
Classification of Mineral Soils
Clay
Increasing silt
Increasing clay
Sandy clay
Silty clay
Clay loam
Silty clay loam
Sandy clay loam
Sandy loam
Silt loam
Sandy silt loam
Loamy sand
Sand
Increasing sand
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1.Identifying Soil Issues (cont) Assessment of
Soil Texture
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1.Identifying Soil Issues (cont)

• Complete Section 2 Table 2 to indicate which of
  the potential issues and problems exist and where
  on the farm.
• Dont forget
• it includes low organic matter
• compaction through cultivation
• damage due to machinery in wet
  conditions
• water and wind erosion
• poaching
• run off
• any other soil issues

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2.Deciding on measures to manage and protect soils

• Having regard to the soil issues already
  identified complete section 3 to identify present
  and future management.
• If no problems -just enter your current practices
• If problems - use the useful guidance and x
  compliance handbook to develop solutions

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2.Deciding on measures to manage and protect
soils (cont)

• You only need to complete those pages
  (enterprises /activities) which are relevant to
  your land and farming system-
• Actions to maintain soil organic matter
• Cereals other combinable crops
• Potatoes
• Vegetables and salad crops
• Sugar Beet
• Maize and other forage crops

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2.Deciding on measures to manage and protect
soils (cont)

• Fruit crops
• Bulbs
• Outdoor Pigs and Poultry
• Short Rotational Coppice and Miscanthus
• Improved Grassland
• Natural or Semi natural grassland
• Land Under Set Aside
• Land not in agricultural production (GAEC12) or
  for non agricultural activities

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2.Deciding on measures to manage and protect
soils (cont)

• Any other land use but NOT Common Land
• Is run off or soil erosion made worse by
  landscape features e.g. slopes valleys, rivers,
  tracks gateways
• For each relevant enterprise/activity consider if
  there are any problems through out the year e.g.
  primary cultivations crop establishment, growing,
  harvesting, post harvest, grazing, or other
  livestock operations

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2.Deciding on measures to manage and protect
soils (cont)

• But ensure you tick yes /no box at top of pages
  11 -32 .
• Then for those land uses that are applicable to
  your farm
• - tick yes /no boxes for the issues that are
  applicable.
• - tick those measures from the principles of
  good soil husbandry that apply.
• Use comments box to expand and for problems
  during the year.

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3.Completing the farm details and signing off the
SPR

• Section 1 page 5
• Farm Details
• Name
• Address
• Area of your holding
• CPH number
• Single Business Identifier
• Name of Person Preparing the review
• Position
• Person responsible for implementing the
  review
• DATE OF COMPLETION SIGNATURE

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4.Further Reviews New Issues

• Not a one off exercise!
• During the year make a note of successful soil
  management, problems and new issues. Try to
  relate the main factors to the outcomes.
• New issues should be noted in Section 3 added
  to Table 2

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4.Further Reviews New Issues

• Consider such issues as
• Ease/difficulty of meeting cross compliance
  requirements.
• Ruts and compaction caused by machinery when soil
  wet but not waterlogged.
• Loss of crop/reduced yield due to compaction
• Areas of standing water, or water logging, for
  long periods
• Water erosion / run off particularly down,
  slopes, tram lines, and through gateways.
• Soil deposited in watercourses or on roads
• Wind blown soil especially that damaging crops

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4.Further Reviews New Issues (cont)

• From 1 January 2007 and each year thereafter
  update your SPR by 31 December by
• Taking account of the successes in good soil
  management.
• Addressing new issues and existing issues that
  are getting worse
• Incorporating changes to farm enterprises and
  practices, and land areas.
• Completion of Section 4, Farm Details, Signature
  date.

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References

• Single Payment Scheme-Cross Compliance Guidance
  for Soil Management 2006 (Defra- rpa)
• Single Payment Scheme Cross Compliance Soil
  Protection Review (Defra- rpa)
• Controlling Soil Erosion -Manual for the
  assessment and management of agricultural land at
  risk of water erosion in lowland England (Defra)

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References

• Controlling Soil Erosion A field guide for an
  erosion risk assessment for farmers and
  consultants
• Controlling Soil Erosion An advisory leaflet
  for preventing soil erosion by wind
• Controlling Soil Erosion - An advisory leaflet
  for preventing erosion caused by grazing
  livestock in lowland England
• Controlling Soil Erosion - An advisory leaflet
  for preventing erosion by outdoor pigs

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SPR Soil Management Plan under Environmental
Stewardship

• For Cross Compliance -Need to complete the SPR
  even if you have prepared a Soil Management Plan
  (SMP).
• A SPR does not qualify as a SMP under
  Environmental Stewardship.
• The Farm Environmental Record part of the Entry
  Level/ Organic Entry Level Schemes requires the
  identification of fields at risk of soil erosion.

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Soil Management Plans (SMP) For Environmental
Stewardship

• Contributes 3 points per hectare BUT NOT
  AVAILABLE ON UNIMPROVED LAND
• Optional under Entry Level / Organic Entry Level
  BUT needed if considering the resource protection
  options under Higher Level.
• SMP can help identify issues which coincide with
  Environmental Stewardship options.

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For further help and advice

• Free General Signposting advice for all farmers
  in Dorset
• Detailed Consultancy Administrative support in
  Dorset Elsewhere
• DAAS. Stinsford Business Centre,
• Kingston Maurward College Dorchester
  Dorset. DT2 8PY
• Tel [phone]r
• 01749 822210
• Fax [phone]
• Email daas_at_kmc.ac.uk

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Soil Management Plans

• DAAS. Stinsford Business Centre, Kingston
  Maurward College Dorchester Dorset. DT2 8PY
• Tel [phone] or 01749 822210
• Fax [phone]
• Email daas_at_kmc.ac.uk

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Soil Management Plans(SMP) For Environmental
Stewardship

• Prepare map(s) showing the degree (colours) of
  risks for both runoff soil erosion on a field
  basis having regard to soil texture, soil
  structure, land form, farming practice, current
  and past experience.
• Add to the maps any flow pathways where water
  runs across your land including where
  watercourses overflow/flood.

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Soil Management Plans (SMP) For Environmental
Stewardship (cont)

• 3. Mark on the map(s) areas/fields that have
  effective under drainage.
• 4. Mark on the map(s) areas/fields that suffer
  from wind erosion
• 5. Record on the map(s) any archaeological/histori
  c feature or other environmental interest
• 6. Consider if there are any simple measures that
  will be beneficial (e.g. moving gateways) in
  reducing erosion

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Soil Management Plans (SMP) For Environmental
Stewardship (cont)

• 7. Consider on a field by field basis any actions
  needed to improve soil condition e.g. sub-soiling
  tram lines or headlands, increasing organic
  matter etc
• 8. Identify in a Schedule on a field by field
  basis including part fields how the land will be
  managed having regard to the above factors.
• 9. Identify in the Schedule the specific
  management practices that accord with the chosen
  management at 8. above

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Soil Management Plans (SMP) For Environmental
Stewardship (cont)

• 10. During the year note any management
  additional to that set out in the Schedule and
  necessary to deal with soil issues and run off
• 11. At the end of the year review the plan
  modifying the risk assessment. Soil assessment,
  rotation and management according to the
  experience of the previous year. Do this
  annually.

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For further help and advice

• Free General Signposting advice for all farmers
  in Dorset
• Detailed Consultancy Administrative support in
  Dorset Elsewhere
• DAAS. Stinsford Business Centre,
• Kingston Maurward College Dorchester
  Dorset. DT2 8PY
• Tel [phone]
• 01749 822210
• Fax [phone]
• Email daas_at_kmc.ac.uk