CrossIf complianceyou are a farmer or land manager and claimed rural payments between 2005 and 2023, you had to follow a set of rules called cross compliance. These rules ended at midnight onon 31 31 December 2023.2023. 

Regulations Thewill Ruralcontinue to Paymentsprotect Agencythe (RPA)environment, hasand amendedanimal health and welfare. Compliance will be monitored by the termsexisting statutory bodies and conditionsregulated ofin youra Countrysidefair, Stewardshipproportionate, (CS)and agreementconsistent inway. This themeans, followingwherever way:

1. Agreementspossible, beforewe 2023:will RPAwork haswith notyou removedto referencesget it right and give you opportunities to crossself-correct compliancebefore butwe theyneed areto notake longerany relevant.
2. Agreementsformal startingaction.

   2024 Agreement holders

   The applicant and agreement holder’s guides published in 2023:2023 RPAfor hasagreements removedstarting 1 January 2024 will have included references to cross compliancecompliance. inWe have updated the terms and conditions.conditions RPAof hasyour alsoagreement removedto referencesreflect tothe end of cross compliancecompliance. fromThese capitalupdated grantsterms and conditions will apply to your agreement when it starts on 1 January 2024.  The Applicant and Agreement holder’s guides.guides Itwill hasalso notbe removedupdated referenceto reflect this change.

   2016 to cross2023 complianceAgreement fromholders

   We have updated the terms and conditions of your agreements to reflect the end of cross compliance. Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreement holder’s guides.guides Allwill not be updated, however all references to cross compliance in these guides are no longer relevant.

3. Agreements startingWe onhave oramended afterthe 1guides Januaryto 2024:remove RPAcross hascompliance removedfor referencescapital only agreements, starting in 2023.

   You must continue to crosscomply compliancewith fromdomestic alllegislation. CSYou agreementcan holder’sfind guidesmore andinformation theabout schemethis termsin andthe conditions.

Rules youfor mustall continueAgreement to followholders

The endremoval of cross compliance haswill only have limited impact on the way you manage your CS agreement. You must continue to meetcomply with legal requirements around certain farming activities to protect people, livestock and the environment. These rules are set out in the the Rules for farmers and land managers. These rules include the hedgerow management rules that were introduced in 2024. Read the next section to find out more.  

Hedgerow management rules    Hedgerows     

Hedgerow management rules apply in England to protect and manage hedgerows on agricultural land. These rules take account of the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 thatwhich came into force on 23 May 2024.

The rules apply to hedgerows growing on, or next to, land used for agriculture.

Withagriculture anyand managementmay activityimpact how you carry out undercertain agricultural activities, including those in your CS agreement,agreement.

The youhedgerow mustmanagement followrules the:include:

• hedgerowa management2-metre rules‘buffer onstrip’, cuttingmeasured from the centre of a hedgerow, where a green cover must be established and trimmingmaintained
• hedgerowno managementcultivation rulesor forapplication of pesticides or fertilisers within the 2-metre buffer stripsstrip
• a nexthedgerow cutting and trimming ban from 1 March to hedgerows31 August (inclusive)

ForYou must comply with the hedgerow management rules on cutting and trimming, and buffer strips when delivering any of your CS options thator requirecapital items. Where an option requires cultivation or usethe application of pesticidepesticides or fertiliser, itthis will usually mean youthe option must establishbe theestablished CS options at least 2 metres (m) from the centre of the hedgerow.

It Thismay isaffect ayour regulatoryagreement hedgerowif managementyou bufferdo strip.not comply with this scheme requirement.

You

SW1 cannotand overlapSW2 the– following4 CSto options6 withmetre thebuffer 2mstrips regulatoryon hedgerowcultivated managementland bufferand strip:

intensive grassland

• SW1:

  If 4myour toagreement 6mcontains SW1 or SW2 grass buffer strip onoptions cultivatedthat land

• SW2:are 4mdelivered next to 6ma bufferhedgerow, stripyou onare intensiverequired grassland

Youto must start tomeasuring measurethe these options at least 2m2 metres from the centre of the hedge.hedgerow This(excluding excludes the land within 2m2 metres of the centre of the hedgehedgerow). asThis is because we cannotare paynot youable to carrypay outyou afor legalthe requirement.2-metre Yourbuffer agreementstrip thereforewhich mayapplies beunder affected if the areamanagement inof SW1hedgerow orregulations.

If SW2your overlapsagreement thestarted landbefore within1 2mJanuary of2024, thethis centre of the hedgerow. 

This is already a requirement forof agreementsyour thatCS startedbuffer beforestrip 1 January 2024.options.

Other

If legalyour requirements

CrossSW1 complianceor requirementsSW2 forbuffer strip option area overlaps the protectionland ofwithin stone2 walls,metres earthof andthe stonecentre banks,of watercoursesthe andhedgerow, waterbodies,this andmay soilsaffect areyour notagreement.