It may be only a week since Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead delivered his CAP implementation plans, but already NFU Scotland is pushing hard for more clarity and guidance.
At the Royal Highland Show, vice-president Allan Bowie said there was real urgency involved, especially for arable farmers.
“With harvest only a few weeks away in parts of Scotland we need a July statement so that we can plan ahead,” he said.
“There is an urgent need to know what fertilisers and sprays will be allowed on cover crops, for example.”
Guidance was also needed on which crops can be grown to meet the crop diversification requirements better known as the notorious three crop rule and which nitrogen-fixing crops can be grown as part of the 5% Environmental Focus Area (EFA) set-aside requirement.
For instance there was no real clarity as to whether vining peas and beans or combining types of the same crops would qualify and, if so, how many hectares of these crops would be credited as one hectare of EFA.
Mr Bowie added: “It is crucial that there is a viable range of options to fit a complex spread of farm cropping and field structure.
“For some farms, utilising the nitrogen-fixing crop or break-crop options will be important.
“First and foremost, it is imperative for growers that these crops make a profitable margin if they are to be seriously considered in rotations, but there are also genuine environmental benefits in terms of soil structure and efficient use of resources.
“The potential to grow commercial crops of home-grown protein crops can also replace soya traditionally imported from South America.
“Another difficulty we face on EFA rules is that they are likely to preclude the growing of winter crops on a parcel of land for two successive years, due to the 12-month agricultural activity rule. That makes early provision of detail essential.”
Nigel Miller, NFUS president, was also in combative mode as regards making rapid progress, while at the same time ensuring that there is some leeway when it came to penalties and inspections.
There had to be a more realistic approach whereby outcomes were more important than processes.
“For example it is not as important to record the exact date when a sheep was tagged as it is to make sure the sheep is actually carrying its tag when it leaves the farm,” he said.
Mr Miller also made a call for Scottish Government officers to have the ability to go on to farms to give advice to farmers as to how to comply with the regulations rather than simply applying penalties when a breach was found.
There was a caveat, however. He said: “The Scottish Government has to have confidence that the EU has changed its standards, and that would need to be well defined.
“The big win would be for the EU policy people to actually speak to their own people in DG Agri so that policy and implementation were linked,” he said.