Scottish farm leaders have joined colleagues south of the border in calling for an end to the proposed three-crop rule under the new Cap regime.
The rules, formally known as the crop diversification element of the new Cap, have the potential to wipe out large areas of malting barley production in the north and north-east and hit the availability of much-needed raw material for Scotch whisky production.
NFU Scotland has written to UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to offer support to Defra’s plans to tackle Europe over the requirements.
The union has consistently argued that crop diversification – rules which would require many farmers to grow a minimum of three crops – are unsuitable for Scotland.
The rules were devised to combat monoculture in other parts of Europe.
“We have consistently highlighted the damage that crop diversification requirements could wreak on arable production here in Scotland and we fully support the secretary of state in his efforts to have this nonsensical element of Cap reform reviewed at the earliest opportunity,” said NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller.
“Its impact will be considerable. The ‘three-crop rule’ proposed by Europe will force Scottish growers away from established markets like malting barley and, instead of being market-focused in the crops they grow, look to plant other crops simply to secure the greening element of the support available.”
He said many environmentalists were also in agreement that the three-crop requirement, when compared with more traditional crop rotations, would fail to deliver benefits and not add diversity to an already-mixed landscape.
“For Scotland, weather pressures at harvest and during sowing periods are another factor which often dictates what crops our growers can produce,” added Mr Miller.
“In northern and more upland parts of Scotland, crop choice is limited with spring barley at the core of production – underpinning our whisky industry.
“These specialist malting barley growers add significant value to the economy and the ecology of Scotland and for European rules to force them into growing other crops is a nonsense.”