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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