Farmers in Wales need to be aware that there have been some changes to the 2017 Cross-Compliance rules. The vast majority of Cross-Compliance rules continue to apply as notified in 2016, but there have been some changes to the following Factsheets, which have been updated by Welsh Government:
- GAEC 3: Water- Groundwater
- GAEC 6: Soil and Organic Matter – Maintenance
- GAEC 7: Maintenance of Landscape Features
- SMR 2: Wild Birds
- SMR 8: Sheep and goat identification
- SMR 10: Restrictions on the use of Plant Protection Products
- SMR 11: Welfare Standards for the Protection of Calves
- SMR 12: Welfare Standards for the Protection of Pigs
- SMR 13: Welfare Standards for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes.
FUW Pembrokeshire County Executive Officer Rebecca Voyle said:
“The majority of the revised factsheets have had fairly minor, but important, word changes to them to help clarify the rules. However SMR 11 and SMR 12 have undergone more significant changes and additional requirements have been added.
“It is important that farmers familiarise themselves with these changes as a breach of the rules could lead to penalties against their 2017 BPS payment.”
So what does it mean for cattle farmers? The new main requirement states that:
- calves must receive at least two liquid feeds per day to gain sufficient nutrition and only when solid feed can be properly digested should it be considered a ‘feed’.
In addition, roughage should be provided from two weeks of age.
The new additions to good practice requirements state that:
- Milk from cows tested and found to be bTB reactors, or inconclusive, should not be fed to calves and may only be fed to animals on the same farm after suitable heat treatment.
- If calves are reared in a system where milk is provided by artificial means, their feed intake should be closely monitored and sick or injured calves must be isolated in suitable accommodation, where appropriate, with dry comfortable bedding.
Pig farmers will have to take note of the rule changes under SMR 12, which apply to all pig keepers, in addition to the requirements for the welfare of all farmed animals (SMR 13).
The new addition to the main requirements now says that:
- where a farrowing crate system is used, piglets must be provided with a source of heat and a solid, dry and comfortable lying area away from the sow where all of them can rest at the same time.
- A part of the floor area where the piglets are kept and which is large enough to allow the animals to rest together at the same time must be solid or covered with a mat, or be littered with straw or other suitable material.
Completely new to the SMR 12 is the Good Practice section, which asks farmers to ensure that:
- tail-docking is not carried out routinely but only where there is evidence that injury to sows’ teats or to other pigs’ ears or tails have occurred.
- Before carrying out tail-docking other measures should be taken to prevent tail-biting and other vices, taking into account environment and stocking densities.
- For that reason, inadequate environmental conditions or management systems are to be changed and it is recommended that best practice is aimed at reducing the need for tail-docking and optimise solutions for providing enrichment materials.
Copies of the revised Cross-Compliance factsheets will not be sent to BPS claimants by RPW but can be accessed in full via the Welsh Government website.