Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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New Green Farming Guide launched

New Green Farming Guide launched

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (7/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 13 January 2009

A new one-stop shop practical guide to help farmers, growers and land managers protect the environment effectively was launched by Farming Minister Jane Kennedy today.

The Code of Good Agricultural Practice, a single document that consolidates three previous codes last published in 1998, offers free best practice advice for farmers of all kinds to protect and enhance water, soil, and air quality in agricultural environments, with advice covering subjects including managing fertilisers and applying nutrients to avoid soil contamination, storing silage and handling effluents, and waste storage, recovery, and disposal.

Bringing together Defra's guidance into one code means that the advice is more accessible to farmers and the public.

Ms Kennedy said:

"English farmers do a fantastic job of producing high quality food and looking after England's historic landscape. This new code will make it simpler and easier for them to interpret legislation and will help them take effective steps to avoid pollution."

The code is appropriate for all farming systems, including organic farming, and is designed to help farmers, growers and other land managers make the most appropriate choices for their individual situations.

The code includes a section which provides advice for farmers on minimising nitrate loss to water. The practices described in this section are also included in the Action Programme of measures that farmers with land located in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) must implement. Farmers with land outside NVZs are encouraged to follow this advice to help prevent nitrate levels rising.

Notes to editors

1. The revised Code of Good Agricultural Practice (CoGAP) can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/environment/cogap/index.htm
Hard copies can also be obtained from The Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN http://www.tso.co.uk.

2. The CoGAP, which applies in England, replaces the separate Water, Air and Soil Codes published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Welsh Office Agriculture Department (last revised in 1998).

3. Advice in the CoGAP is appropriate for all farming systems. However, the advice does not override the legal requirement for certified organic producers to comply with the Compendium of UK Organic Standards (reference 1) and any extra requirements of their chosen Certification Body.

4. Certain sections of the revised CoGAP form a Statutory Code under the Water Resources Act 1991. This means that if the advice set out in the code on avoiding water pollution is not followed, it will not be an offence, but it could be taken into account in any legal action

5. The CoGAP is not a compliance document. However, Environment Agency inspectors use the CoGAP document to inform farm inspections and farmer compliance with a wide range of regulations covering air, water and soil. They also take into account the CoGAP when considering any enforcement action on farm

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