SPS 2011 Land Use codes
Published: 1 March 2011
Replaced Q4 with new question and answer ~ 30 March 2011
1. What crop code should be used for land used to grow wild bird cover?
Land used to grow wild bird cover or game cover should be coded as OT1.
2. What crop codes should I use to declare permanent crops, such as orchards?
You should use PC2 for all permanent crops. The one exception to this is where you are growing nuts and are claiming Area Payment for Nuts, these should be coded NT5 – NT8 as appropriate (see Annex A of the SPS 2011 Handbook).
3. What crop code should I use to declare a crop of nuts?
The Area payment scheme for Nuts ends in 2011. The crop codes for 2011 are shown below:
| Almonds | NT7 |
| Hazelnuts or filberts | NT5 |
| Walnuts | NT6 |
| Pistachios | NT8 |
4. What code should I use for permanent pasture in an agri-environment agreement?
You should only use PP4 for pasture that is being used to meet a specific grassland management option. PP1 should be used for grazed woodland, even if the woodland itself is part of an agri-environment agreement.
5. How should I enter my agri-environment strips on my SPS application?
If you have agri-environment margins in a field, these can be recorded under the same land use code as the rest of the field and there is no need to split the parcel. For example, if you have a field of wheat, with an agri-environment strip, you can code the field as OT1. Note the exceptions to this are when Protein Crop Premium or Area Payments for Nuts are claimed and grown on the remainder of the field; in these circumstances please read question 7.
6. I have grass margins on some of my arable fields which are not in an agri-environment scheme. Do I have to declare these grass margins separately?
No. Grass margins in a field can be recorded under the same land use code as the rest of the field and there is no need to split the parcel. For example, if you have a field of wheat, with a grass margin, you can code the field as OT1. Note the exceptions to this are when Protein Crop Premium or Area Payments for Nuts are claimed and grown on the remainder of the field; in these circumstances please read question 7.
7. How should I enter my agri-environment margins/strips onto my SPS application if they are in the same field as one that I’m claiming additional aid, such as Protein Crop Premium?
The agri-environment margin should be coded the same as the rest of the field, it does not need to be declared separately to the area being activated for SPS so the whole area should be declared in column C8. However, the margin cannot be claimed for additional aid, such as Protein Crop Premium.
The area of the agri-environment margin needs to be deducted from the area claimed for Protein Crop Premium at column C11. In these circumstances you need to supply a sketch map of the field showing the agri-environment margins and the area claimed for Protein Crop Premium.
The same applies where the field has agri-environment margins and is growing crops used for Area Payments for Nuts.
8. What land use code should I use for land where turf is being harvested?
Land used to produce turf for a lawn should be coded as grass. If it is used for this purpose for 5 years or more it would become permanent grass. Therefore it should either be coded TG1 or PP1.
Turf for fuel is counted as non-agricultural use and is ineligible for the Single Payment Scheme.
9. What code should be used for fields planted in Autumn 2010 where patches of the crop has not grown or has died off and cannot be replanted (for example, because of flooding)?
This land should be coded the same as the rest of the field, for example if the land was planted with wheat and some patches failed the whole field should be coded as OT1.
If the area is also being claimed for an additional aid payment, such as Protein Crop Premium, and patches have failed, the claimant should reduce the area in column C11 to take account of these patches. The land would still be eligible for SPS, but not for an additional aid payment.
10. What code should be used for fields planted in Autumn 2010 where the whole crop has died off and cannot be replanted and won’t be harvested (for example, because of flooding or high water table)?
The status of the land on 16 May will determine whether the land is considered as being used for agricultural production. If the land will be in production on 16 May then GAEC 12 will not apply in that calendar year. If the land will not be in production on 16 May then GAEC 12 will apply from the day after the land comes out of production until the day it is returned to production.
For the purpose of GAEC 12, land is considered as being used for agricultural production when:
a crop has been planted in the ground;
preparatory work for a following crop has commenced on the land, e.g. ploughing, spraying off;
animals are grazing;
land is used for growing of grass to be cut as silage, hay or other feed, or to be grazed in the future on the basis that these operations are undertaken.
For the SPS 2011 application, claimants should declare the land with the appropriate land use code based on the status of the land on 16 May. For example, if preparatory work for the following crop will have commenced by 16 May, the claimant should declare the land as OT1 even if the crop will not be sown by that date. If preparatory work will not have started by 16 May, the land should be declared as OT2.
11. If I’m growing Short Rotation Coppice, what species can I use to claim?
The list of eligible species in England is:
Alder (Alnus)
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
Birch (Betula)
Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Hornbeam
Lime (Tilia cordata)
Poplar
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Willow
The maximum harvest cycle (the period between harvests) is 20 years.
Page published: 11 June 2012