More than three-quarters of all cross-compliance penalties issued to NI farmers last year were due to rules relating to cattle identification and registration.

Figures obtained from DAERA show that of the 294 breaches found by Department inspectors, 225 of them were for rules on cattle tags and the notification of births, deaths, and movements.

It resulted in 79 farmers being fined 1% of their basic payment, with 102 farmers fined 3% and 19 handed penalties worth 5% of payments.

The vast majority of cattle identification inspections were conducted on farms that were already seen by DAERA as being at risk of breaking the rules

However, larger fines were also handed out, with 19 penalties worth between 6% and 20% of claims, and six farmers lost over 20% of their basic payment.

The vast majority of cattle identification inspections were conducted on farms that were already seen by DAERA as being at risk of breaking the rules.

The figures show that of the 777 farms that were audited, only 3% were selected randomly for inspection.

Pollution

The next most common issue with cross compliance rules relates to the protection of water against pollution.

There were 47 breaches found on NI farms during 2020, with 40 of these incidents resulting in penalties worth 3% of basic payments.

This set of regulations covers the likes of slurry spreading and nutrient run-off from farmyards.

Almost 80% of the farms inspected for these rules last year were deemed at risk of being non-compliant.

Seven farmers were found to be in breach of rules relating to landscape features

The number of penalties issued for other cross compliance rules is much lower and there were no fines issued for half of the 20 different categories of regulations.

Seven farmers were found to be in breach of rules relating to landscape features, such as removing hedgerows without permission from DAERA, and six fines were issued for regulations surrounding sheep tags and registrations.

Identical

The 294 breaches found on NI farms during cross compliance audits in 2020 is almost identical to the 291 breaches that were identified the year before.

However, the number of fines issued for claiming basic payment on ineligible land was well down last year, mainly because fewer inspections were conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figures from DAERA show that 243 land eligibility checks for the basic payment scheme were conducted during 2020 and 33 farmers were hit with penalties. It compares to 1,205 inspections during the 2019 scheme year which resulted in 91 land eligibility fines.