Farming Minister George Eustice has written to the European Commission to request an exemption from the three crop rule for 2018 to support farmers affected by the unusually heavy rain and snow in recent weeks.

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The three crop rule – the EU requirement for farmers with 30+ hectares to grow at least three different crops – has been particularly difficult this year given that much of the main sowing period was characterised by heavy rain and snow. Through no fault of their own, farmers in many areas have been unable to sow the crops they had intended to grow.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

“We have listened to the concerns raised by farmers and their representatives about the challenges caused by the recent weather conditions.

“With the help of the Devolved Administrations, we have put forward a detailed case to the European Commission for a derogation from the CAP’s crop diversification requirement.

“Farmers will be making their final cropping decisions in the coming weeks, and we hope the Commission will inform us of their decision shortly so we can provide them with clarity.”

The NFU recently wrote to Defra warning that unseasonably wet weather has left many farmers struggling to comply with the EU’s three-crop rule. Scotland and Northern Ireland have also asked Brussels for derogations from the rule.

The regulation, which came into effect in January 2015 as part of the BPS ordered farmers with more than 30ha of arable land to grow at least three different crops.

The rule was designed to encourage better crop rotation; however, this year the wet weather has delayed ploughing and planting which meant that many growers had already missed out on the opportunity to plant alternative crops.