BGS - CAP for Grassland
Permanent Pasture – behind the terminology
We hear a lot about permanent pasture, especially in relation to the new CAP reform, but it’s worth
remembering that there are several definitions of this term used within different contexts.
Permanent Pasture in terms of CAP
Under CAP, including greening, permanent pasture refers to any land that that been in grassland for
five years or more – i.e. from its 6th birthday. This includes land that has been reseeded from grass
straight back into grass and includes herbaceous forages such as lucerne, sainfoin and clovers. But
does not include a forage break crop such as forage rape or stubble turnips, which are classified as
arable for the purposes of CAP, even if they are in for only part of a year.
Temporary grass that has not been in place for more than five years is categorised under the term
‘arable land’. Farmers with more than ten hectares of arable land will be subject to the crop
diversification requirement under greening, unless more than 75% of the arable land is in temporary
grass or fallow and this portion constitutes no more than 30 hectares in total.
Please note that more announcements on CAP reform are expected in October, should any of the
information change as a result we will provide further updates.
Permanent Pasture in terms of Environmental Regulations
Grassland in a block of two hectares or more that has not been cultivated for 15 years or mores fall
under a second type of permanent pasture definition – unimproved or semi-natural. In this case you
are required to seek approval from Natural England in England or the Welsh Government in Wales
before cultivation or improvement works take place, including drainage, spraying and applying
fertilisers as well as ploughing. The Authority will make a decision about whether an Environmental
Impact Assessment (IEA) is required before approving your proposal for modification. This legislation
is in place to potentially protect important landscapes, habitats and species. In cases where it is not
followed the perpetrator can be required to reinstate the land and is also in breach of cross
compliance incurring a payment penalty under CAP.
It is worth remembering that grassland that has been “improved”, even if it has not been ploughed,
within the last 15 years is outside this definition, i.e. if fertiliser has been applied for use within your
farming activities.
Notes
Understanding these two separate definitions is important because now that the Government has
decided to manage our permanent pasture requirement at a national level, individual farmers will in
affect be at liberty to rotate and modify permanent pasture – but only that falling under the first
definition, not the second. It should also be noted that the second definition includes unseeded land
of natural vegetation used in farming but not available in the rotation such as that which might
include shrubs and small trees. Of course specific management prescriptions will still apply if you
operate under an environmental agreement such ELS, HLS or equivalent. Also, remember that any
permanent pasture in special areas designated under the EC Habitat or Birds directives (SACs and
SPAs) continue to be subject to legislation under these directives.