Schedule 3 ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS TO WHICH PAYMENTS REFERRED TO IN SCHEDULE 7, PART II, ITEM 2 RELATE

As regards any land which is the subject of an agreement, which is suitable for reversion to permanent grassland and which either has been converted from arable land to grassland under a previous agreement or, on 31st August 1991, was in arable cropping or had been in ley management for less than five years as part of an arable rotation, requirements to the effect that–

(a)

except where reversion to grassland has already taken place, the farmer shall cease arable production and establish a grassland sward within twelve months of the start of the agreement;

(b)

during a period of twelve months from the start of the agreement the farmer shall not apply to the land–

(i)

any fertiliser,

(ii)

lime, slag or any substance designed to reduce the acidity of the soil, or

(iii)

any pesticide,

without obtaining the Minister’s prior approval;

(c)

the farmer shall not exceed a stocking level of 1.4 livestock units per hectare of the land, and for the purposes of this paragraph, “livestock unit” means–

(i)

1 bovine animal more than 2 years old;

(ii)

1.66 bovine animals no younger than 6 months old but less than 2 years old;

(iii)

6.66 sheep; or

(iv)

1 horse more than 6 months old or pony more than 6 months old; and

(e)

after the expiry of the twelve month period referred to in paragraph (a) above, the farmer shall also observe the requirements of–

(i)

Schedule 1 paragraph 1 (in relation to chalk downland), or Schedule 1 paragraph 2 (in relation to river valley grassland) except that he may chain harrow or roll the land before 31 March with the Minister’s prior approval; and

(ii)

Schedule 1 paragraph 3(c) except that, once the sward has been established for three years, the farmer may, with the prior approval of the Minister, apply to the land up to 40 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year or 15 tonnes of farmyard manure per hectare per year.