Regulation 8 Requirements in relation to set-aside land
A farmer shall, subject to paragraphs (2) to (8) below, comply with the requirements of Schedule 2 in relation to his set-aside land other than land which is—
set aside pursuant to Council Regulation 2078/92; or
afforested pursuant to Council Regulation 2080/92.
A farmer may use relevant set-aside land for the provision of specified raw materials, in which case he—
shall not be required to comply with any provision of Schedule 2 (except as applied by Schedule 3), but
shall comply with the requirements set out in Schedule 3,
in relation to that land, and for the purposes of this paragraph “relevant set-aside land” means set-aside land which is neither environmental transferred set-aside land nor land to which paragraph (1)(a) or (b) above refers.
A farmer shall be exempt from any particular requirement of Schedule 2 or 3 in relation to particular set-aside land, if he satisfies the Minister that he should be exempted from it—
to facilitate research into the effect of the observance of particular methods of managing set-aside land;
for environmental reasons;
in the case of an educational establishment, to facilitate the fulfilment of its educational purpose;
because during the set-aside period—
a pipeline, cable or pylon is or will be laid through, or constructed on or across, the particular set-aside land and the farmer cannot reasonably prevent that laying or construction, provided that, in the case of land set aside as rotational set-aside land, laying or construction was not already in progress on the date on which the land was set aside;
maintenance of a pipeline, cable or pylon which the farmer cannot reasonably prevent is or will be carried out on the particular set-aside land; or
an archaeological excavation is to be carried out on the particular set-aside land;
for reasons of human or animal health or safety;
because, at the time at which compliance with that requirement would otherwise be required, it is likely that the cost or difficulty of complying with that requirement would be disproportionately high in comparison with the environmental benefit which compliance with that requirement would yield; or
because such exemption is necessary either to enable a serious plant health problem to be treated, or to permit preventative measures to be taken to prevent the development of such a problem.
The Minister may specify that any exemption granted pursuant to paragraph (3) above shall be effective only until a date, or the occurrence of a particular event, specified in the exemption.
Where the Minister considers that—
the circumstances of all set-aside land (apart from that to which paragraph (1)(a) or (b) above refers)—
situated in a particular geographical location;
planted with a particular variety or species of crop; or
both situated in a particular geographical location and planted with a particular variety or species of crop,
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are such that each farmer of that land would be able to satisfy the Minister that he should be exempt, under paragraph (3)(e), (f) or (g) above or under paragraph 25(a) of Schedule 2, or treated as having been exempted under paragraph 11(2) of Schedule 2, from the requirement to comply with any or all of the requirements set out in Schedule 2 in respect of that land; and
the circumstances are such that it would be reasonably practicable for the Minister to publish an exemption notice in accordance with paragraph (6) below,
then the Minister shall so publish that exemption notice.
Every exemption notice to which paragraph (5) above refers shall be published in the farming press and shall—
specify—
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(i) above applies) the geographic location;
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(ii) above applies) the variety or species of crop; or
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(iii) above applies) the geographical location and variety or species of crop,
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to which the exemption applies;
specify the scope of the exemption;
specify any conditions attaching to the exemption; and
specify the period of applicability of the exemption.
Where an exemption notice is published, any farmer who applies or has applied to the Minister for a compensatory payment in respect of any land—
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(i) above applies) situated in a geographic location;
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(ii) above applies) planted with a variety or species of crop; or
(in a case to which paragraph (5)(a)(iii) above applies) situated in a geographical location and planted with a variety or species of crop,
specified in that notice shall (except as may be required by the notice) by virtue of this provision be treated as exempt (or, as the case may be, as having been exempted) from the requirement to comply with such provisions of Schedule 2 of these Regulations as are specified in that notice, during the period of applicability of that exemption.
For the purposes of paragraphs (6) and (7) above—
the “farming press” means any publication or group of publications which in the Minister’s opinion is read by sufficient of those farmers to whom the exemption applies that knowledge of it will be disseminated to substantially all of those affected farmers; and
the period of applicability of the exemption means either a period of a specified length commencing on a date specified in the exemption notice or the period from that date until the occurrence of a particular event specified in the exemption notice as bringing the period of applicability to an end.