{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/farming-with-nature-scheme-regulations-northern-ireland-2025/regulation-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/farming-with-nature-scheme-regulations-northern-ireland-2025/regulation-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2025/101",
  "legislation_title": "The Farming with Nature Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/farming-with-nature-scheme-regulations-northern-ireland-2025",
  "path": "regulation/2",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Regulations—\n“applicant” means an eligible farm business which has applied for a scheme payment under the scheme;\n“authorised person” means any person authorised by the Department to act in matters relating to these Regulations;\n“designated watercourse” means a watercourse designated by the Drainage Council under the Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973\n“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;\n“eligible farm business” means a farm business operating on the land upon which one of the eligible scheme actions listed in Schedule 1 and eligible supporting items listed in Schedule 2 occur and meets the eligibility criteria listed in regulations 4 to 7;\n“eligible scheme actions” means the actions listed in Schedule 1;\n“eligible supporting items” means the items listed in Schedule 2;\n“EFS” means the Environmental Farming Scheme administered by the Department under Regulation (EU) No.1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No.640/2014;\n“farm business” means a farm business which holds a DAERA Farm Business ID number;\n“gate and two posts” means a gate and two posts which meet the criteria in Schedule 2;\n“LPIS” means the Land Parcel Identification System maintained by the Department;\n“machinery” includes–\n(i)digging machines;\n(ii)mobile cranes;\n(iii)generators or compressors;\n(iv)construction equipment, including wheel loaders, bulldozers, crawler tractors, crawler loaders, truck-type loaders, off highway vehicles and hydraulic excavators;\n(v)agricultural equipment;\n(vi)self-propelled agricultural vehicles including tractors and quad vehicles; and\n(vii)fork-lift trucks\n“management control” in relation to an applicant, means the power to manage the fields in which eligible scheme actions and eligible supporting items are implemented with a degree of autonomy in respect of those fields sufficient for the carrying out of eligible scheme actions and eligible supporting items;\n“permanent grassland sensitive area” means as required by Article 32A of Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy areas including peat and wetlands covered by either or both the Wild Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive which are environmentally sensitive and which need protection to meet the requirements of these directives;\n“post” means a post which is—\n(a)new and commercially available; and\n(b)does not consist of wooden materials;\n“protective fencing” means fencing which meets the criteria in Schedule 2;\n“retention period” means the length of time stated in Schedule 1 for which the respective eligible scheme actions completed by the eligible farm business must be retained;\n“scheme” means the Farming with Nature Transition Scheme administered by the Department;\n“scheme payment” means a payment under regulation 8;\n“scheme year” means–\n(a)in the initial year of operation, the period beginning on 19th June 2025 and ending on 31st March 2026;\n(b)in the second year, the period beginning on 1st April 2026 and ending on 31st March 2027;\n“Tier 1 land” means fields that are within sites designated as special areas of conservation, special protection areas and Ramsar sites by the Department;\n“Tier 2 land” means fields that are within sites designated as biological Areas of Specific Scientific Interest by the Department;\n“Tier 3 land” means Northern Ireland priority habitats and species areas outside sites designated by the Department;\n“watercourse” means any channel through which water may flow as identified by the Department using LPIS data.\n(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (25.6.2026) by The Farming with Nature Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.R. 2026/105), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (25.6.2026) by The Farming with Nature Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.R. 2026/105), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Reg. 2 in operation at 19.6.2025, see reg. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1973 No. 69(N.I.1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "EUR 640/2014"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as “The Convention on Wetlands”, an international environmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, under the auspices of UNESCO. Further information can be found here:Ramsar Sites | JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "Northern Ireland Priority Habitats are those habitats which require conservation action because of their decline, rarity and importance. A list of Northern Ireland Priority Habitats can be found here:Northern Ireland Priority Habitat Guides | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "1954 c.33(N.I.)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2025/101/regulation/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T00:25:53.048342+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."
}