Although cross compliance ended in England on 31st December 2023, those who are farming will still have to comply with regulatory standards on the environment, animal and plant health, and animal welfare. These regulatory standards sit under domestic (UK and England) legislation and regulation, as well as some retained European legislation. Compliance will be monitored by the existing statutory bodies and regulated in a fair, proportionate and consistent way.
The table below shows the alignment between the previous Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) and Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) under cross compliance, with the different pieces of underlying legislation, regulation or order that contain these requirements and continue to apply in 2024.
| Previous GAEC | Underlying Legislation, Regulation or Order that contains specific requirements |
| GAEC 1: Establishment of buffer strips along watercourses |
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| GAEC 2: Water Abstraction |
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| GAEC 3: Groundwater |
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| GAEC 4: Providing minimum soil cover |
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| GAEC 5: Minimising soil erosion |
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| GAEC 6: Maintaining the level of organic matter in soil |
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| GAEC 7a: Boundaries |
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| GAEC 7b: Public Rights of Way |
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| GAEC 7c: Trees |
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| GAEC 7d: Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) |
|
| GAEC 7e: Monuments |
|
| Previous SMR | Underlying Legislation, Regulation or Order that contains specific requirements |
| SMR1: Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) |
|
| SMR 2: Wild Birds |
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| SMR 3: Habitats and Species |
|
| SMR 4: Food and feed law | UK Legislation:
Enforcement powers provided by:
Pesticides: Pesticides in food | Food Standards Agency Milk: Dairy registration and inspections | Food Standards Agency milk-producer-guide-v4.pdf (food.gov.uk) Due to trading agreements with the EU, various EU rules also still apply to products for export:
Animal Feed Regulations:
|
| SMR 5: Restrictions on the use of substances having hormonal or thyrostatic action and beta-agonists in farm animals |
|
| SMR 6: Pig identification and registration |
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| SMR 7: Cattle identification and registration |
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| SMR 8: Sheep and goat identification |
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| SMR 9: Prevention and control of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) |
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| SMR 10: Plant Protection Products (PPPs) |
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| SMR 11: Welfare of calves |
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| SMR 12: Welfare of pigs |
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| SMR 13: Welfare of animals |
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The Rules for Farmers and Land Managers webpages on GOV.UK provides further detail on what you must do and specific compliance requirements when you keep livestock or manage land. These are grouped by farming activities rather than individual regulations so you can find the ones that apply to you.
