Cross Compliance Closed Season

[aitch]

Anyone aware of this?

 

http://farmingadviceservice.org.uk/events/assets/Uploads/Technical-articles/FAS-articleTree-cutting-rulesfinal-issued.pdf?utm_source=Ricardo-AEA+Ltd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5816260_FAS%2fNAO-RB%2fED57348005%2fJun2015&dm_i=DA4,3GNUS,1WAMDV,CE6V4,1

 

No cutting trees as well as hedges if your a Basic Payment Scheme claimant.

[Billhook]

Very much aware of this.

It comes with a seemingly endless list of rules starting with the words "YOU MUST" or "YOU MUST NOT" the penalty for an average farm may be to withhold the farm subsidy.

The people who decide are not judges and there is no court or jury.

 

This penalty is in many cases a hundred times more than you would be fined for stabbing your ex girlfriend.

 

Man fined after stabbing ex over 'love trap' - The Scotsman

 

He was fined £650

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Thanks for posting the link, interesting read.

 

I had a (good natured but animated) discussion with a farming mate who was bemoaning the onerous administrative burden of all the regulations which "prevent" him from operating his business and making a profit and of course the unfairness of being "fined" for non compliance.

 

He really couldn't accept that a good many of the regulations / restrictions are, by definition, self imposed and that they are voluntarily accepted by the agricultural community.

 

So far as I can tell (happy to be corrected) some rules & regs are compulsory but many of the cross compliance criteria are tied to grant funding but there is no compulsion to take the grant funding?

 

Doesn't it follow then that if the compliance criteria are overly cumbersome or onerous, don't do it and don't take the free money?

 

Failure to comply or ignorance of the criteria doesn't result in a "fine" which might necessitate a judge & jury, it's simply a matter of not qualifying for grant funding - perhaps similar to someone being censured in regard of benefit payments for not attending an appointment or job interview?