Organic Farming Regulations 1999

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved

1999 No. 590

AGRICULTURE

The Organic Farming Regulations 1999

Made 11th March 1999

Laid before Parliament 11th March 1999

Coming into force 6th April 1999

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by that section, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after obtaining the approval of the European Commission to zonal programmes submitted in draft in accordance with Article 7.1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside3, and after consulting the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Countryside Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council for England and the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission of England in accordance with section 99 of the Environment Act 19954, hereby makes the following Regulations–

S-1 Title, commencement and extent

Title, commencement and extent

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Organic Farming Regulations 1999, shall apply to England and shall come into force on 6th April 1999.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

the 1994 Regulations” means the Organic Farming (Aid) Regulations 19945;

“aid” means the payments under the Community aid scheme referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation 2078/92 in so far as it relates to farmers who undertake to introduce organic farming methods;

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping and the use of land for grazing, meadow land, market gardens or nursery grounds, but does not include the use of land–

(i) as osier land; or

(ii) for woodlands, except where that use is ancillary to any other use of land for the purposes of agriculture;

“agri-environment scheme” means an arrangement which is–

(a) regulated by statutory instrument providing for the payment of aid to persons who give an undertaking or enter into an agreement in relation to the use or management of land; and

(b) approved by the Commission of the European Communities under Article 7(3) of Council Regulation 2078/92 as part of a zonal programme drawn up pursuant to Article 3 of that Regulation;

“application” means an application for aid made in accordance with regulation 9 in respect of one or more organic parcels, but does not include a request under regulation 13(1), and “applicant” and “apply” shall be construed accordingly;

“approved” means approved by an inspection authority;

“authorised person” means a person (whether or not an officer of the Minister) who is authorised by the Minister, either generally or specifically, to act in relation to matters arising under these Regulations;

“beneficiary” means–

(a) a person whose application, or whose request under regulation 13(1) in respect of land comprising one or more organic parcels, has been accepted by the Minister; or

(b) a person who occupies the whole or any part of an organic unit following a change of occupation of the holding, who has given an undertaking to comply with all the obligations assumed by its previous occupier under these Regulations, in so far as they relate to land comprised in that organic unit, or the part of that organic unit occupied by him, and whose undertaking in such terms has been accepted by the Minister;

“certificate of registration” means a certificate issued by an inspection authority in respect of an organic parcel, specifying the conversion period which applies in relation to that organic parcel, or the date on which that conversion period begins; and for this purpose a certificate so issued is issued “in respect of” an organic parcel if it relates to that organic parcel, whether or not it also relates to any other organic parcel;

“Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 746/96laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/926, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 435/977;

“conversion”, in relation to an organic parcel, means the conversion of that organic parcel to being fully organic;

“conversion period”, in relation to an organic parcel, means the period determined by the inspection authority as the period in which the conversion of that organic parcel is expected to be completed, being a period starting–

(a) in relation to the first organic period, not later than the date of receipt; and

(b) in relation to any other organic parcel, not later than the fifth anniversary of the date of receipt;

“Council Regulation 2092/91” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs8, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1900/989;

“Council Regulation 2078/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside10, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2772/9511as in turn rectified by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1962/9612;

“date of receipt”, in relation to an organic parcel, means the date on which the Minister received an application in accordance with regulation 9 in respect of that organic parcel;

“first organic parcel” means, of all the organic parcels comprised in an application, the organic parcel the conversion period for which begins first;

“first year” means–

(a) in relation to an organic parcel–

(i) in a case where the conversion period in respect of the organic parcel has commenced no later than the date of receipt, the year beginning with the date of receipt; and

(ii) in any other case, the year beginning with the anniversary of the date of receipt which is the first such anniversary to occur during the conversion period relating to the organic parcel in question; and

(b) in relation to an organic unit, the first year in relation to the first organic parcel to which an application relates, being the first such application relating to land comprised in that organic unit;

and any reference to any successive year is a reference to the relevant successive year following in sequence from the first year;

“fully organic” in relation to an organic parcel or organic unit means that–

(a) the inspection authority is satisfied that the conversion of that organic parcel or organic unit is completed; and

(b) notification having been given under Article 8 of Council Regulation 2092/9113, details of such organic parcel or organic unit have appeared in the list referred to in that Article;

“grazing year” means any period of twelve months beginning with the date of receipt or any anniversary of the date of receipt;

“holding” means all the production units managed by a producer situated within the same member State’s territory;

“inspection authority”, in relation to an organic unit or organic parcel, means–

(a) the authority designated by the Organic Products Regulations 199214for the purposes of Article 9 of Council Regulation 2092/91, or

(b) a private inspection body approved by that authority in accordance with Article 9 of that Regulation (which concerns the inspection system to which organic farming is subject),

being the authority or private inspection body to whom the applicant has applied to carry out inspection functions in relation to that organic unit or organic parcel;

“land” means land which is used for agriculture;

“landlord”, in relation to the tenant of a holding, means any person who either solely or jointly owns, or has a superior tenancy of, that holding, and “immediate landlord” means the landlord from whose title (or, as the case may be, joint title) the tenant directly derives his title;

“last organic parcel” means, of all the organic parcels which are the subject of an application, the organic parcel the conversion period for which begins last;

“livestock” means any animal or fowl kept for the production of food, wool or skins or for the breeding of any animal for any such purpose;

“livestock undergoing conversion” means livestock which are identified in an approved plan as being in the process of being converted into organic livestock, and which fully conform to those UKROFS standards which apply in relation to the organic farming of livestock undergoing conversion;

“Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

“organic farming” means farming by organic farming methods;

“organic farming methods” has the same meaning as in Article 2(1)(a) of Council Regulation 2078/92;

“organic livestock” means livestock that are identified in an approved plan as being livestock that fully conform to those UKROFS standards which apply in relation to the organic farming of livestock;

“organic parcel” means an area of land which comprises the whole or part of an organic unit and which is identified in an approved plan by reference to such system of field numbering as the Minister may direct;

“organic unit” means an area of land which comprises the whole or part of a holding, and which has been established as an organic unit in accordance with Annex III to Council Regulation 2092/91 (which concerns the delineation of the organic unit by any inspection authority in a report countersigned by the producer);

“owner” means the person who owns the fee simple of the holding, and “owns” shall be construed accordingly;

“plan” means a schedule in writing specifying, in relation to an organic unit–

(a) those parcels which have been registered by the inspection authority;

(b) those parcels which it is intended to register in the future;

(c) the dates on which such organic parcels have been or (as the case may be)...

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