The Farming Regulation Task Force this week reported to the UK government on ways to reduce regulatory burdens on farmers and food processors, recommending more than 200 ways of reducing unnecessary “red tape”.
Agriculture minister Jim Paice warmly welcomed the report, as did the Soil Association.
The organisation pointed in particular to one section of the report, which states: “We recommend that if an organic farmer in an NVZ `nitrate vulnerable zone` is fully certified by a relevant organic certification body, the organic land should be assumed to be compliant with the Nitrate Regulations and the farmer should not have to carry out the additional record-keeping.”
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, commented: “We are delighted that organic farmers will be relieved of a significant record keeping and form filling burden, when the government accepts this advice, which will recognise the high environmental standards organic farming delivers.”
The next step is for the government to consider the report’s recommendations, before issuing an initial public response and Parliamentary statement in the autumn, followed by an updated final response at the turn of the year.
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