Regulation 2 InterpretationI1

In these Regulations—

• “accepted organic farmer” means a farmer who—

  1. (a)

     satisfies the Department that he farms the land by organic means or is converting to so farming the land; and

  2. (b)

     has pursuant to Article 8(1) of Council Regulation 2092/91 notified the Department that by so farming the land or converting it as aforesaid he produces products of a kind specified in Article 1 of that Regulation and has submitted to the inspection system referred to in Article 9 of that Regulation;

• “agricultural parcel” has the same meaning as in Article 1(4) of Council Regulation 3508/92 as read with the first indent of Article 6(1) of that Regulation;

• “Annex I raw materials” means specified raw materials other than the raw materials listed in Annex II to Commission Regulation 1586/97;

• “arable compensatory payment” means a compensatory payment other than a compensatory payment made in respect of set-aside land;

• “arable crop” has the same meaning as in Article 1(2) of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “authorised person” means any person who is authorised by the Department, either generally or specifically, to act in matters arising under these Regulations;

• “collector” has the same meaning as in Article 1 of Commission Regulation 1586/97;

• “combinable crop” means any crop commonly harvested using a combine harvester;

• “Commission Regulation 2780/92” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2780/92 on the conditions for the grant of compensatory payments under the support system for producers of certain arable crops^f1;

• “Commission Regulation 3887/92” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes^f2;

• “Commission Regulation 1586/97” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1586/97 laying down detailed implementing rules for the use of land set aside for the provision of materials for the manufacture within the Community of products not primarily intended for human or animal consumption^f3;

• “Commission Regulation 762/94” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 762/94 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation 1765/92 with regard to the set-aside scheme^f4;

• “Commission Regulation 658/96” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 658/96 on certain conditions for granting compensatory payments under the support system for producers of certain arable crops^f5;

• “compensatory payment” means a compensatory payment under Article 2(2) of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “Council Regulation 2092/91” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs^f6;

• “Council Regulation 1765/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops^f7 as read with Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3738/92^f8 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1598/96^f9;

• “Council Regulation 2078/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside^f10;

• “Council Regulation 2080/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2080/92 instituting a Community aid scheme for forestry measures in agriculture^f11;

• “Council Regulation 3508/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3508/92 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes^f12;

• “the Department” means the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland;

• “eligible land” means land—

  1. (a)

     for which aid has been granted under Title I of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2328/91 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures^f13 or in respect of which an application for direct payments has been accepted under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3766/91 establishing a support system for producers of soya beans, rape seed, colza seed and sunflower seed^f14;

  2. (b)

     not under permanent pasture (as defined in Annex I to Commission Regulation 658/96), permanent crops (as defined in the same Annex), forest or non-agricultural uses on 31st December 1991;

  3. (c)

     which the Department has declared to be eligible land in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 9 of Council Regulation 1765/92 and with either Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation 2780/92 or Article 2(4) of Commission Regulation 658/96; or

  4. (d)

     which falls to be treated as eligible land in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 9 of Council Regulation 1765/92, Article 2(5) of Commission Regulation 658/96 and regulation 6,

  except land which—

  1. (a)

     the Department has declared, in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 9 of Council Regulation 1765/92 and with either Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation 2780/92 or Article 2(4) of Commission Regulation 658/96, no longer to be eligible land; or

  2. (b)

     which no longer falls to be treated as eligible land, in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 9 of Council Regulation 1765/92, Article 2(5) of Commission Regulation 658/96 and regulation 6;

• “environmental transferred set-aside land” means all land set aside by a farmer to satisfy the set-aside requirement of another farmer, except land in respect of which evidence showing that it falls within a location such as is specified in regulation 10(3)(a) has been provided by a transferee (as defined by regulation 10(2));

• “farmer” means a farmer within the meaning of Article 1(4) of Council Regulation 3508/92 who applies to the Department for a compensatory payment;

• “farm-saved rapeseed” means seed which—

  1. (a)

     is the product of a harvest obtained from the planting, on a particular holding, of certified seed of a variety listed in Annex II to Commission Regulation 658/96; and

  2. (b)

     is, or is to be, sown on that holding;

• “green cover” means a green cover established or, as the case may be, falling to be established in accordance with Schedule 2;

• “green cover season” means the period commencing on 15th January in a given year and ending on 30th June in the same year (both dates inclusive);

• “guaranteed set-aside land” means set-aside land which a farmer has undertaken to keep set aside for five successive marketing years pursuant to Article 5(1) of Commission Regulation 762/94;

• “holding” has the same meaning as in Article 1(4) of Council Regulation 3508/92;

• “land set aside for non-food purposes” means land set aside (in accordance with Commission Regulation 1586/97) for the provision of raw materials for the manufacture within the European Community of products not primarily intended for human or animal consumption;

• “legal requirement”, in relation to a farmer, means an obligation which the Department is satisfied on reasonable grounds is legally binding on the farmer;

• “the option to set aside” means the option (under Article 7(6) of Council Regulation 1765/92) for a farmer to set aside more land than is required to satisfy his set-aside requirement;

• “organic waste” means any waste material produced by or from animals or plants as a by-product of agricultural production, and includes animal bedding;

• “penalty set-aside land” means land set aside to satisfy the penalty set-aside requirement;

• “penalty set-aside requirement” means the requirement referred to in the second indent of the first sub-paragraph of Article 2(6) of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “permitted agricultural production” means, during the period commencing on 1st September in any given year and ending on the following 14th January (both dates inclusive), the use of set-aside land for the keeping and feeding of animals or for the harvesting of crops from it, in circumstances where—

  1. (a)

     no payment or benefit in kind is received by the farmer in respect of such use or harvesting; and

  2. (b)

     such use or harvesting is not required to be prohibited by Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation 762/94;

• “processor” means a processor referred to in Article 9 of Commission Regulation 1586/97;

• “production region” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “scheme year” means a year beginning on 15th January and ending on the following 14th January (both dates inclusive);

• “seed crop” means a crop grown so that the seed of the crop may be harvested and sown to establish a further crop;

• “set aside” means withdraw, or as the case may be withdrawn, from agricultural production other than permitted agricultural production or (in accordance with Commission Regulation 1586/97) the provision of raw materials for the manufacture within the European Community of products not primarily intended for human or animal consumption;

• “set-aside compensatory payment” means a compensatory payment made in respect of set-aside land, as provided for in Article 7(5) and (6) of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “set-aside land” means land set aside pursuant to—

  1. (a)

     the set-aside requirement;

  2. (b)

     the penalty set-aside requirement; or

  3. (c)

     the option to set aside,

  including land set aside which has been set aside pursuant to Council Regulation 2078/92 or afforested pursuant to Council Regulation 2080/92 and (in either case) is counted as being set aside pursuant to Article 7(2) of Council Regulation 1765/92;

• “set-aside period” means (except in the case of guaranteed set-aside land) the period within a scheme year commencing on the first day of that year and ending on 31st August (both dates inclusive) and, in the case of guaranteed set-aside land, means a scheme year;

• “set-aside requirement” (except in the expression “penalty set-aside requirement”) means the requirement, imposed by Article 2(5) of Council Regulation 1765/92 on all farmers claiming arable compensatory payments (except those to whom Article 8(3) of that Regulation applies), to set aside land in accordance with Article 7(1) of that Regulation;

• “sharefarming agreement” means an agreement for the use of agricultural land for the purposes of a farming enterprise, made between the owner of that land (including a person entitled for a term of years certain or other limited estate) and a farmer who does not have a right to exclusive possession of that land or any legal interest or charge in or over it, under which—

  1. (a)

     the relationship between the contracting parties is not one of partnership or employer and employee or landlord and tenant;

  2. (b)

     the respective liabilities of the contracting parties for the farming enterprise remain separate and defined in the agreement;

  3. (c)

     the contracting parties have joint responsibility for planning and managing the farming enterprise; and

  4. (d)

     each contracting party’s reward for participation in the farming enterprise is an agreed share of the output from that enterprise, which output shall include agricultural produce of all kinds produced on or from the land and, in any case where produce is sold on behalf of each party to the sharefarming agreement, revenues from such sale;

• “specified control measure” means any check, test, verification, inspection, investigation, control or other operation in relation to arable land which a member State is required to carry out under Council Regulation 3508/92 or Title IV of Commission Regulation 3887/92;

• “specified raw materials” means the raw materials, listed in Annex I and Annex II to Commission Regulation 1586/97, produced on land set aside for non-food purposes;

• “vernacular building” means a building of a design or style traditional in its locality;

• “waste” (except in the expression “organic waste”) means any type of agricultural, industrial or domestic waste; and

• “working day” means a week-day other than a Saturday or a public holiday.

Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date these Regulations are made.

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954^f15 except section 20(2) and (3), shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.