TITLE IU.K.SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 4U.K.Definitions and related provisions

1.For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)"farmer" means a natural or legal person, or a group of natural or legal persons, regardless of the legal status granted to such group and its members F1..., whose holding is situated within the [F2United Kingdom], and who exercises an agricultural activity;

(b)"holding" means all the units used for agricultural activities and managed by a farmer situated within the [F3United Kingdom];

(c)"agricultural activity" means:

(i)

production, rearing or growing of agricultural products, including harvesting, milking, breeding animals, and keeping animals for farming purposes,

(ii)

maintaining an agricultural area in a state which makes it suitable for grazing or cultivation without preparatory action going beyond usual agricultural methods and machineries, based on criteria established by [F4the relevant authority on the basis of the framework set out in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 639/2014], or

(iii)

carrying out a minimum activity, defined by [F5the relevant authority], on agricultural areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation;

(d)"agricultural products" means the products, with the exception of fishery products, listed in Annex I to the Treaties F6...;

(e)"agricultural area" means any area taken up by arable land, permanent grassland and permanent pasture, or permanent crops;

(f)"arable land" means land cultivated for crop production or areas available for crop production but lying fallow, including areas set aside in accordance with Articles 22, 23 and 24 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, with Article 39 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 and with Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, irrespective of whether or not that land is under greenhouses or under fixed or mobile cover;

(g)"permanent crops" means non-rotational crops other than permanent grassland and permanent pasture that occupy the land for five years or more and yield repeated harvests, including nurseries and short rotation coppice;

[F7(h)"permanent grassland and permanent pasture" (together referred to as "permanent grassland") means land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more, [F8and, where the relevant authority so decides], that has not been ploughed up for five years or more; it may include other species such as shrubs and/or trees which can be grazed and, where [F9the relevant authority so decides], other species such as shrubs and/or trees which produce animal feed, provided that the grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant. [F10The relevant authority] may also decide to consider as permanent grassland:

(i)

land which can be grazed and which forms part of established local practices where grasses and other herbaceous forage are traditionally not predominant in grazing areas; and/or

(ii)

land which can be grazed where grasses and other herbaceous forage are not predominant or are absent in grazing areas;]

(i)"grasses or other herbaceous forage" means all herbaceous plants traditionally found in natural pastures or normally included in mixtures of seeds for pastures or meadows in the [F11United Kingdom], whether or not used for grazing animals;

(j)"nurseries" means the following areas of young ligneous (woody) plants grown in the open air for subsequent transplantation:

(k)"short rotation coppice" means areas planted with tree species F12... F13... defined by [F14the relevant authority] that consist of woody, perennial crops, the rootstock or stools of which remain in the ground after harvesting, with new shoots emerging in the following season and with a maximum harvest cycle F13... determined by the [F15relevant authority];

(l)"sale" means the sale or any other definitive transfer of ownership of land or payment entitlements; it does not include the sale of land where land is transferred to public authorities or for use in the public interest and where the transfer is carried out for non-agricultural purposes;

(m)"lease" means a rental agreement or similar temporary transaction;

(n)"transfer" means the lease or sale or actual inheritance or anticipated inheritance of land or payment entitlements or any other definitive transfer thereof; it does not cover the reversion of entitlements upon expiry of a lease;

[F16(o)“constituent nation” means England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, as the case may be;

(p)“national reserve” means a reserve established by the relevant authority at the level of the constituent nation;

(q)“regional reserves” means reserves established by the relevant authority at regional level;

(r)“relevant authority” means—

(i)in relation to England, the Secretary of State;

(ii)in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

(iii)in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

(iv)in relation to Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;

(s)“appropriate authority” means—

(i)the relevant authority for the constituent nation in which the regulations apply, or

(ii)the Secretary of State:

(aa)in relation to regulations applying in Scotland, if consent is given by the Scottish Ministers;

(bb)in relation to regulations applying in Northern Ireland, if consent is given by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.]

[F17Notwithstanding points (f) and (h) of the first subparagraph, [F18a relevant authority] which, prior to 1 January 2018, [F19has] accepted parcels of land lying fallow as arable land may continue to accept them as such after that date. From 1 January 2018 parcels of land lying fallow which have been accepted as arable land under this subparagraph in 2018 shall become permanent grassland in 2023, or thereafter, if the conditions set out in point (h) are met.]

2.[F20For the purposes of point (c) of paragraph 1:

(a)the criteria to be met by farmers in order to fulfil the obligation to maintain an agricultural area in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation, as referred to in point (c)(ii) are the criteria set by the relevant authority prior to exit day;

(b)where applicable in a constituent nation, the minimum activity to be carried out on agricultural areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation, as referred to in point (c)(iii) is as defined by the relevant authority prior to exit day.]

[F21The relevant authority] may decide that land which can be grazed and which forms part of established local practices where grasses and other herbaceous forage are traditionally not predominant in grazing areas is to be considered to be permanent grassland, as referred to in point (h) of paragraph 1.

[F17[F21The relevant authority] may decide that:

(a)land that has not been ploughed up for five years or more shall be considered permanent grassland as referred to in point (h) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, provided that the land is used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forages naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that it has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more;

(b)permanent grassland may include other species such as shrubs and/or trees which produce animal feed, in areas where grasses and other herbaceous forage are predominant; and/or

(c)land which can be grazed where grasses and other herbaceous forage are not predominant or are absent in grazing areas be considered permanent grassland as referred to in point (h) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

[F21The relevant authority] may decide, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, to apply their decision in accordance with points (b) and/or (c) of the third subparagraph of this paragraph to the whole or a part of [F22the constituent nation].

[F23This paragraph only applies where the decisions to which it refers were made and notified to the Commission by:

(a)31st January 2015, in the case of a decision taken under the second subparagraph;

(b)31st March 2018, in the case of a decision taken under the third or fourth subparagraph.]]

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Textual Amendments