{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2014-639/article-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2014-639/article-4.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2014/639",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and amending Annex X to that Regulation",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2014-639",
  "path": "article/4",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Framework for criteria on maintaining the agricultural area in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation",
  "text": "(1.) For the purposes of the point (ii) of Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the criteria that farmers are to meet in order to fulfil the obligation to maintain the agricultural area in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation without preparatory action going beyond usual agricultural methods and machineries shall be established by the relevant authority in either or both of the following ways:\n(a)the relevant authority requires at least one annual activity to be carried out by a farmer. Where justified for environmental reasons, the relevant authority may decide to recognise also activities that are carried out only every second year;\n(b)the relevant authority sets out the characteristics to be met by an agricultural area in order to be deemed maintained in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation.\n(2.) When establishing criteria referred to in paragraph 1, the relevant authority may distinguish between different types of agricultural areas.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Regulation revoked (E.) (1.1.2024) by The Agriculture (Delinked Payments and Consequential Provisions) (England) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1430), reg. 1(2)(a), Sch. 3 para. 1 Table 1 (with Sch. 3 Pt. 2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Art. 4 omitted (E.) (1.1.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1513), regs. 1(2), 3(4); and Art. 4 omitted (N.I.) (23.2.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/40), regs. 1(1), 3(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in Art. 4(1) substituted (31.1.2020) by The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/91), regs. 1(2), 10(4)(a)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in Art. 4(1)(a) substituted (31.1.2020) by The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/91), regs. 1(2), 10(4)(a)(ii)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in Art. 4(1)(a) substituted (31.1.2020) by The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/91), regs. 1(2), 10(4)(a)(ii)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in Art. 4(1)(b) substituted (31.1.2020) by The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/91), regs. 1(2), 10(4)(a)(iii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in Art. 4(2) substituted (31.1.2020) by The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/91), regs. 1(2), 10(4)(b)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2014/639/article/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:47:34.513983+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}