Single Payment Scheme Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2010 edition Other existing SPS publications: Title Defra publication no. Guide to Cross Compliance in England PB 12904 and PB1290A (updates) Cross Compliance Soil Protection Review PB 13311 Cross Compliance Guidance for the Management PB 12903 of Habitats and Landscape Features To order copies of these publications (quote references) contact: Defra Publications Admail 6000 London SW1A 2JR Tel: 0845 955 6000 Fax: 020 8957 5012 Email:
[email protected] RPA publications on the SPS: Single Payment Scheme Handbook and Guidance for England Cover picture: Rothamsted Research Single Payment Scheme Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2010 edition Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2010 edition Preface The Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is a key part of Defra’s Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food. At the same time, all claimants have to meet baseline standards for agriculture and are contributing to environmental protection. As a condition of the SPS, including the attendant schemes, and certain area related EU Rural Development (RD) schemes, farmers must comply with a series of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions standards (GAECs), of which the revised Soil Protection Review (SPR) is GAEC 1. This Guidance will help you to prepare your SPR. Background The Cross Compliance Guidance for Soil Management 2010 edition covers a number of key changes to the four Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) for soils, following a review of Cross Compliance and subsequent consultation with farmers and representative bodies in 2009. The most important changes are; •n The incorporation of the 4 Soils GAECs into a single GAEC 1, which forms an updated Soil Protection Review.