Extreme weather guidance for farmers and land managers

If you think the extreme weather will affect your ability to meet your agreement requirements or change the area eligible for a scheme, you should contact the Rural Payments Agency (RPA)us as soon as you can. Please detail the extreme weather event including the date and time it occurred.

Short-term effects

When extreme weather means that you cannot temporarily manage your agreement according to the Countrysidethe CS or ES option Stewardship (CS) or Environmental Stewardship (ES) option requirements, you can request a minor and temporary adjustment to those requirements. You need to complete the Minor and temporary adjustment (MTA) form.

Once you have filled in the form, post the the form to us.us. Or you can scan it, then email it to us and include the following in the subject title:

• ‘Adjustment request’Request’
• the scheme you need to request an adjustment for
• your agreement or Single Business Identifier (SBI)(SBI) number

If agricultural land or woodland is flooded

Flooded agricultural land or woodland is still eligible for Basicfor BPS Payment Scheme and may not affect land in a CSa CS or ES agreement,or ES agreement, if the flooding is temporary and the land would otherwise still be available for agricultural activity. Please write to us and provide further detail to allow us to assess eligibility.

You should:

• return the land to agricultural or woodland use as soon as practically possible
• continue to meet the scheme rules or requirements of agreement options on the affected land parcels

Long-term effects

Where the impact of extreme weather is more serious and permanent, and prevents you from meeting scheme requirements, or your agreement obligations for the current year, you should contact us.

When to request a permanent change

Extreme weather can be considered under ‘good reasons’ or ‘force majeure’ if you are unable to meet scheme requirements or agreement obligations due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances outside your control.

‘Force majeure’ applies to ES agreements and CS agreements with a start date before 1 January 2023.

‘Good reasons’ applies to CS Higher Tier and Mid Tier and Wildlife Offer agreements with a start date of 1 January 2023 or later and for CS Capital agreements from the 2022 application round, with agreement start dates from 2022 onwards.

You may also need to consider requesting a permanent change to future years of your agreement.

For BPS,For BPS, the impact could be regarded as more serious and permanent if the land can no longer be considered as ‘eligible’ for BPS andfor BPS and no longer meets the land eligibility criteria. For example, if a stretch of river bank and part of the land parcel has been washed away and the boundary of the field subsequently moved, then the area washed away would be a permanent change. Another example would be where stone or debris is covering eligible land and making that land ineligible.

For ES and CS,For ES and CS, the impact may result in a permanent change to the agreement land, or land features, or both, meaning that you can no longer manage the land according to the requirements of the options in your agreement. For example, a hedgerow or newly created woodland that is part of your CS or ES agreementyour CS or ES agreement has been destroyed, or as above, part of a land parcel may have been washed away.

When extreme weather changes your land permanently, you should check whether you need to make corresponding changes to your digital maps. It(see isour importantguidance on how to make such changes). It’s important you let us know if this will change the areas you’re able to managebe under ES, CS ormanaged under ES, CS or a Woodland scheme, or change the BPS eligiblethe BPS eligible area.

How to request a permanent change

For BPS 2023For BPS 2023 applications, and CS and ES agreements,and CS and ES agreements, you must email or write to us using the subject title ‘Extreme weather 2023’, your Single Business Identifier (SBI),(SBI), and for CS and ES,for CS and ES, your agreement numbers. You will need to provide written evidence to show:

• what has happened
• how the event means you are unable to meet the scheme rules or agreement requirements or both

You must send your email or letter within 8 weeks of being able to do so. This means within 8 weeks of the time you realise that you cannot meet any of the scheme requirements or agreement obligations. ThisIt mayis not benecessarily 8 weeks from the extreme weather event itself.

You will need to prove that, despite taking every care that could have been expected of you, the exceptional circumstances prevented you from meeting your obligations.

Your evidence should include details of the actions taken with an explanation of the events and the dates they occurred.

A Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)(SFI) agreement is affected

Where there is a change of circumstances or your land is affected, you will need to contact RPA as soon as reasonably practicable. For more information, read the ‘Good reasons for a breach’ in the ‘Checking you’re complying with your SFI agreement’ guidance.

A Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)(SFI) Pilot agreement is affected

Where there is a change in your circumstances or your land is affected, you will need to contact RPA as soon as reasonably practicable. For more information, read the ‘Good reasons for a breach’ in the SFI Pilot’s terms and conditions.

When Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) land is affected

If SSSI land is affected and you need to carry out remedial work or boundary repairs or both, you may need consent from Natural England before you start any work.

Where you need to carry out emergency works you can do this without Natural England’s consent. However, you must notify notify NaturalNatural England and include details of the emergency as soon as you can.

Farm Woodland Premium Scheme or English Woodland Grant Scheme is affected

If you have concerns about a grant scheme that is administered by the Forestry Commission rather than by the Rural Payments Agency, contact them directly using the relevant dedicated mailbox. If you’re not sure what that is, email email thethe Forestry Commission.

Deal with dangerous or fallen trees on your land

You do not need a felling licence to fell a dangerous tree or remove a fallen tree.

You should gather evidence that supports your decision that the tree was an imminent danger. If possible, you should take photos (with reference to scale) that show the tree setting and condition before and after felling or if fallen. Other forms of evidence might include maps, site surveys or reports and, importantly, a record that confirms when tree felling took place.

For information on the felling licence process, please read see Felling licence: getting permission.

Keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weather

Read about keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weatherweather..

Report animal movements

Where the welfare or survival of livestock is at risk due to any extreme weather event, as an animal keeper you must move them to a safe location. You should do this as soon as possible, providing it is safe to do so.

For cattle keepers, you must record and report cattle movements. You may not be able to report the movements to another holding, or cattle births and deaths, within regulatory deadlines. You must update your farm records and report births, movements, and deaths as soon as possible after moving the animals to a safe location.

If you have any problems:

• problems, keepers in England should contact thecontact BCMS on British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) on 0345 050 1234
• 1234, keepers in Wales should call 0345 050 3456
• 3456, and keepers in Scotland should contact Scot EID on 01466 794323

794323.

For sheep, goat and pig keepers, where it has been necessary for you to move the animals to land on another holding, you may not be able to complete the movement documents normally required before moving the animals. You must update your records with details of the movement and complete the movement documents as soon as possible after moving the animals to a safe location.

If you have already moved or still need to move your livestock inside the 6-day standstill period, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)(APHA) will licence these moves. You should contact APHA oncontact APHA on 03000 200 301.

Report movements for unregistered calves and cattle under restrictions

You may need to move cattle when some or all of them are very young, unregistered calves that don’t have a passport, or are under one of the following restrictions.

• Individual Movement Restriction (CPP 27)
• Whole Herd Movement Restriction (CPP 28)
• Notice to Identify (CPP 30)
• Notice of Registration (CPP 35)

If you’re moving them to a safe location that is part of the same holding, you do not need to notify BCMS ornotify BCMS or Scot EID because no movement has taken place off the holding.

If the safe location is on a different holding, you must ask for a movement licence, which will be backdated to the movement date, as soon as possible after the animals have been moved. To do this:

• this, keepers in England should contact BCMS oncontact BCMS on 0345 050 1234
• 1234, keepers in Wales should call 0345 050 3456
• 3456, and keepers in Scotland should contact Scot EID on 01466 794323

794323.

If the animals without passports are very young calves and ear tags have not yet been fitted, you do not need to fit ear tags before the calves are moved.

You must keep movement licences with your on-farm herd records and update those records with movement details as soon as possible.

Once the extreme weather has subsided, you can return animals to the original holding. You will need to request a further movement licence by calling BCMS,calling BCMS, or Scot EID. You will need to give the reference number of the original movement licence. This second licence will only allow you to move the animals back to the holding they came from.

Report delays to TB testing

You should tell tell Animal Pland and Health Agency (APHA) that you have not or cannot complete your TB test due to flooding. No cross compliance action will be taken.

What happens if site visits are affected

We will postpone any scheduled site visits in affected areas until the situation eases.

What happens if cross compliance requirements are affected

For there to be a breach of cross compliance, you must be directly responsible for any action or inaction that caused the breach.

Therefore, any cross compliance breaches caused by an extreme weather event will not be considered as breaches as they are not the result of any action or inaction you have taken. For example, where landscape features protected by Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) such as stone walls or hedgerows are washed away or Public Rights of Way have become obstructed.

You are also exempt from the rules where any action is carried out by a statutory body acting under its statutory authority. For example, utility companies carrying out electricity, water, gas or highway works.

Many of the GAECs already include exemptions that allow works to be carried out in emergency situations. For example, cutting or trimming trees where they are damaged and are a risk to people.

You are also exempt from a GAEC rule in the following circumstances:

• there is a risk to human or animal health or safety
• it’s necessary to prevent or treat serious causes of harm to plant health
• it’s necessary to prevent or treat serious pest or weed infestations

You do not need to write to us to ask for an exemption.

If you are concerned about a breach of the cross compliance rules that’s out of your control, you should keep a record of it. Use photos and/or a written record of the issues. You can show these if you are inspected at a later date, so we can see how you were affected.

We can grant derogations where work is to be carried out if it:

• would enhance the environment
• relates to livestock or crop production
• would improve public or agricultural access

You must apply to us in writing for a derogation. You must wait for written permission before carrying out any works.

If any of the above-mentioned ‘directly attributable’ provisions, exemptions and derogations do not apply in the case of a cross compliance breach, we can consider cases where ‘force majeure’ or exceptional circumstances prevented you from meeting cross compliance rules.

Contact us

Email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or write to us at:

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG

Call us on 03000 200 301