The NFU is reminding farmers and growers that they have until the end of March to complete their Crop Protection Management Plan - one of the key elements of The Voluntary Initiative.
NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said: “It is vital that farmers show their support for voluntary measures at this time. Defra is currently consulting on how to implement the Sustainable Use Directive and this consultation presents options and asks for respondents to largely select between voluntary measures and a regulatory option. We strongly support the voluntary approach in order to avoid further regulation.
“We need to be able to show that existing voluntary measures, like those promoted by The Voluntary Initiative, are being widely supported. The VI has targets to meet, agreed with government, and failure to fulfill these could cause problems in the future. I urge all farmers who haven’t completed a CPMP to fill one in and return the summary sheet to the NFU before the end of March.
“The CPMP remains a very effective tool to look at how you use pesticides on your farm - especially as the Water Framework Directive is in its implementation phase and the first River Basin Management Plans has now been published. Please also remember that if you included the CPMP as a point scoring option in your existing ELS scheme, the CPMP must be completed each year.”
Farmers and agronomists can return CPMP summaries via fax (02476 858501), post (CPMP returns, Agriculture House, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2TZ) or by completing the plan online via the CPMP website at www.cpmponline.com.
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