While much of the current talk is about the skeleton on which a new CAP will be mounted, tillage farmers will need to be aware of changes that will apply for 2018 and beyond. These relate to new rules around greening which will come into force from 2018 and relate to specific changes to Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). The department indicates that, at present, approximately 5,400 farmers are obliged to abide by EFA obligations because they have more than 15ha of arable land. The greening rules oblige these farmers to have at least 5% EFA on their holding to be compliant. When the greening rules came into force in 2015 it was suggested that the 5% might increase to 7% within two years but this did not happen. For 2018 and future years, the obligation will continue to be 5% EFA.