NEW ‘GREENING’ guidance for CAP 2018 has been published by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing MSP.
The new guidance, which has been endorsed by Professor Russel Griggs’s expert group and includes changes introduced by the European Commission’s simplification agenda, provides further flexibility for farmers and crofters to mitigate the impact of farming on the environment including:
The inclusion of hedges and agro forestry as Ecological Focus Area (EFA) Changes to the management of EFA fallow regarding the maintenance of drains Banning the use of plant protection products, such as pesticides and herbicides on EFA The merging of some EFA features such as field margins and buffer strips.