A new traffic light penalty system for satellite inspections, already introduced in some countries, does not apply follow up actions or inspections to farmers whose penalty is less than €50.

As the European Commission pushes towards more satellite inspections in the next CAP, it has introduced a traffic penalty system which it suggests member states should adopt. Countries such as Spain, Italy and Belgium have already been using the system.

If the satellite does not flag any issues, the farmer gets a green light and is paid.

If the satellite cannot see something on the farm or returns an inconclusive result, the farm gets a yellow light and a follow-up is needed, but only if the value of the penalty is expected to be over €50.

Commission documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal state: “If the impact on payment is >€50 and <€250, at least 5% of inconclusive parcels have to be followed up to reach a conclusion on eligibility of aid or support requested.

“If the impact on payment is >€250, the application(s)/claim(s) has/ have to be followed-up.”

A follow up could include a farmer sending in geotagged photographs, or in more extreme cases, a “rapid” farm inspection.