Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

• “agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the use of land for other agricultural purposes, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;

• “applicant” means a person who has applied for a compensatory allowance under these Regulations;

• “the appropriate Minister” means–

  1. (a)

     in relation to England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and

  2. (b)

     in relation to any other part of Great Britain, the Secretary of State;

• “authorised person” means a person (whether or not an officer of that Minister) who is authorised by the appropriate Minister, either generally or specially, to act in matters arising under these Regulations;

• “breeding cow” means a female bovine animal, comprised in a regular breeding herd which is not maintained primarily for the production of milk and which, on or before the qualifying day–

  1. (a)

     has borne a calf and is capable of lactation, or

  2. (b)

     has been brought into the herd primarily for the purpose of replacing an animal which has borne a calf, and is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, suitable for the purpose of bearing a calf before 15th November in the year in respect of which an application for a compensatory allowance is made under these Regulations;

• “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^f1;

• “Council Regulation 2328/91” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2328/91 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures^f2, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 870/93^f3;

• “designated maps” means–

  1. (a)

     in relation to England, the 3 volumes of maps numbered 1 to 3, each such volume being marked “volume of maps of less–favoured farming areas in England” and with the number of the volume, dated 20th May 1991, signed and sealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and deposited at the offices of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HX;

  2. (b)

     in relation to Wales, the 2 volumes of maps numbered 1 and 2, both volumes being marked “volume of maps of less–favoured farming areas in Wales” and with the number of the volume, dated 20th May 1991, signed by the Secretary of State for Wales and deposited at the offices of the Welsh Office Agriculture Department at Trawsgoed, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 4HT;

  3. (c)

     in relation to Scotland, the 4 maps numbered 1 to 4, each such map being marked “map of less–favoured farming areas in Scotland” and with the number of the map, dated 15th May 1991, signed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and deposited at the offices of the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department at Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TW;

• “disadvantaged land” means the land shown coloured blue or coloured pink on the designated maps, being land–

  1. (a)

     which is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, inherently suitable for extensive livestock production but not for the production of crops in quantity materially greater than that necessary to feed such livestock as are capable of being maintained on such land, and

  2. (b)

     whose agricultural production is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, restricted in its range by, or by any combination of, soil, relief, aspect or climate;

• “ECU” means the unit of account used for the purposes of the common agricultural structures policy of the European Economic Community, and any reference in these Regulations to a specified number of ECU in relation to a compensatory allowance shall be taken to be a reference to the sterling equivalent of that number of ECU converted into sterling at the agricultural conversion rate applicable on the qualifying day in the year in respect of which the compensatory allowance is paid;

• “eligible land” means an area of land of not less than three hectares–

  1. (a)

     which is situated in an area included in the list of less–favoured farming areas adopted by the Council or the Commission of the European Communities under Article 2(2) of Council Directive No. 75/268/EEC on mountain and hill farming and farming in certain less–favoured areas^f4, as amended by Council Directive No. 80/666/EEC^f5, which list is contained in Council Directive No. 84/169/EEC^f6, as amended by Commission Decision No. 91/25/EEC^f7, and

  2. (b)

     which is severely disadvantaged land or disadvantaged land;

• “ewe” means a female sheep which, on the qualifying day, is more than one year old;

• “forage area” means the area of land producing plants grazed by, or fed to, livestock;

• “livestock unit” means a unit of measurement of numbers of livestock described in Article 19 of, and Annex 1 to, Council Regulation 2328/91;

• “occupier” includes a person who has a right to use eligible land for the purpose of grazing cattle or sheep;

• “overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock–

  1. (a)

     in such numbers as adversely to affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree, or

  2. (b)

     in such numbers that the need for supplementary feeding leads to excessive trampling or poaching of the land by the animals or excessive rutting by vehicles used to transport the feed;

• “qualified flock” means a flock of ewes which is kept on eligible land, or on eligible land and other land used with it, and which is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister–

  1. (a)

     maintained primarily for the purpose of breeding and rearing lambs, and

  2. (b)

     maintained and managed in accordance with sound husbandry practice;

• “the qualifying day” means, in respect of any year in which a compensatory allowance may be paid under these Regulations, 1st January in that year;

• “regular breeding herd” means a herd of cattle which is kept on eligible land, or on eligible land and other land used with it, and which is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister–

  1. (a)

     maintained primarily for the purpose of breeding and rearing calves, and

  2. (b)

     maintained and managed in accordance with sound husbandry practice;

• “the 1984 Regulations” means the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1984^f8;

• “the 1992 Regulations” means the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1992^f9;

• “relevant afforested land” means land which in the opinion of the appropriate Minister was converted to forest on or after 1st January 1986 and before 1st January 1988 by or on behalf of a person to whom a compensatory allowance was paid in respect of that land before the date when the conversion to forest was completed under the 1984 Regulations, the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1979^f10 or the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1975^f11 ; but land shall cease to be relevant afforested land for the purposes of these Regulations 15 years after the date when such conversion was completed;

• “retirement pension” means a category A and category B pension within the meaning of section 20(1)(f) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992^f12, a category C and category D pension within the meaning of section 63(f) of that Act, or graduated retirement benefit as referred to in Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations 1978^f13 ;

• “severely disadvantaged land” means–

  1. (a)

     the land shown coloured pink on the designated maps, being land–

     1. (i)

        which is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, inherently suitable for extensive livestock production but not for the production of crops in quantity materially greater than that necessary to feed such livestock as are capable of being maintained on such land, and

     2. (ii)

        whose agricultural production is, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, severely restricted in its range by, or by any combination of, soil, relief, aspect or climate, or

  2. (b)

     land situated in the Isles of Scilly;

• “sound husbandry practice” includes practice in relation to the grazing and feeding of livestock;

• “specially qualified flock” means a qualified flock–

  1. (a)

     in which all, or in the opinion of the appropriate Minister substantially all, of the ewes comprised in the flock are of any hardy breed or cross breed of sheep approved by the appropriate Minister for the purposes of these Regulations, being a breed or cross breed which is suitable for breeding and rearing on land in respect of which the severity of the permanent natural handicaps affecting the breeding and rearing of sheep on that land is greater than that affecting the breeding and rearing of sheep on severely disadvantaged land generally,

  2. (b)

     in which the ewes are, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, maintained in three distinct age groups, and

  3. (c)

     which in England and Wales is maintained on severely disadvantaged land or on severely disadvantaged land and other land used with it, and in Scotland is maintained or substantially maintained on severely disadvantaged land suitable for use for the maintenance of sheep of a hardy breed, but not sheep of other breeds;

• “specified control measure” means any check which a member State is required to carry out under Article 6 of Commission Regulation 3887/92.

Where in Scotland any agricultural unit consists in part only of eligible land, that land or any part thereof shall be deemed for the purposes of these Regulations not to be eligible land unless, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, such land or such part thereof would be suitable to be dealt with as a separate unit which is capable, having regard to the number of other animals normally grazed thereon, of maintaining a regular breeding herd or a qualified flock.

Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation shall be construed as a reference to the regulation so numbered in these Regulations.