GAEC 5: Minimum land management reflecting site specific conditions to limit erosion
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You must have minimum land management which reflects site specific conditions in order to limit erosion.
What you must do
You must put measures in place to limit soil and bankside erosion caused, for example, by:
- cropping practices and cropping structures
- livestock management, including outdoor pigs and poultry, causing overgrazing and poaching
- wind
- vehicles, trailers and machinery.
Where soil compaction may cause soil erosion, you must, where appropriate, cultivate post-harvest land and late harvested crops using primary cultivation methods like ploughing. Information on other primary cultivation methods is available in ‘Cross compliance: soil protection standards’.
You could lose some of your scheme payments if erosion is over a single area greater than 1 hectare, or caused by livestock trampling along a continuous stretch of more than 20 metres long and 2 metres wide of a watercourse.
Examples of appropriate measures to limit soil erosion are provided in ‘Cross compliance: soil protection standards’ (see below).
Other guidance
There is more guidance online – search for ‘Cross compliance: soil protection standards’ at www.gov.uk. This guidance is also available on paper from the RPA.
Contact
Rural Payments Agency: 0345 603 7777