1. Environmental Farming Scheme
Support for Organic Farming Brian Ervine Environmental Farming Branch, DAERA 26 January 2017

2. Organic Farming Support
EFS – Two Stand-alone Organic Options
Organic Conversion
Organic Management

3. Option Aims Increased biodiversity;
Improved soil organic matter and quality;
Improved water quality;
Climate stability.

4. Organic Options - Overview
Arable – land used to grow crops;
Horticulture – land used for the production of fruit, vegetables, herbs, protected crops, bulbs, outdoor flowers and hardy nursery stock;
Grassland – Improved grassland containing more than 25% ryegrass, etc or semi-improved grassland containing less than 25% ryegrass, etc; does not include enclosed rough grazing, rough moorland or heather moorland.

5. Eligibility DAERA Category 1 or 2 Business ID;
Minimum of 3 hectares LPIS MEA;
Registered with an approved organic certification body on or before the date of application;
Have management control of the land for the duration of the agreement

6. Organic Payments
Conversion – 2 yrs conversion payment, followed by 3 yrs management payment.
For top-fruit – conversion is 3yrs, management 2 yrs.
Management – 5 yrs management payment.

7. Conversion Payment Rates
Option
Conversion Payments £ / Hectare
Full Rate
Digressive Payment
Grassland
144 45
Arable land
149
Horticulture
358

8. Management Payment Rates
Option
Management Payments £ / Hectare
Full Rate
Digressive Payment
Grassland 53 20
Arable land
Horticulture
197

9. Digressive Payments Conversion and Management Options:-
Over 6 hectares for Horticulture;
Over 60 hectares for Arable and Grassland;

10. Selection Procedure / Prioritisation
Total farm conversion over partial farm conversion;
Larger organic area over smaller organic area;
Mixed farms over monocultural farms;
Help to achieve sectoral balance across horticultural, livestock and cereal;
Farms located within an area of intensive agricultural land use with River bodies failing to meet WFD “good status”.

11. Organic Options and other EFS Options
Land under EFS(H) options cannot receive organic conversion / management support;
EFS(W) funded Margins are not eligible for Organic support;
All other EFS boundary options can be claimed on land registered as Organic or in conversion – no overlap with agricultural operations compensated by the Organic payment;
Woodland Options cannot be claimed on land registered as Organic / in conversion.

12. Organic Conversion Target
By support conversion of at least 700ha of conventionally farmed land to certified organic production.

13. Thank you