Farmers are being reminded not to fall foul of new rules requiring the users of agrochemicals to register their details on a new government database by 22 June.

It was announced last month that any business which uses Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and adjuvants professionally must register under The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.

The database is being compiled by Defra and covers England, Scotland and Wales.

“The announcement that users of PPPs – which will include livestock farmers as well as arable growers – need to register was somewhat of a surprise and we are aware that many producers have yet to fill out the form,” says David Hurst, farming consultant in the Morpeth office of Strutt & Parker.

“Farmers are being asked to fill out a spreadsheet where they supply their business name and address, plus details of how much product is used, stored and applied annually.

“This will require a bit of looking back through previous records, which is a pain, but the form does at least make clear that a rough estimate will be adequate. Once completed, the spreadsheet then needs to be emailed to Defra using the address provided.”

The new rules require any business in the farming, amenity and forestry sectors which uses professional PPPs and adjuvants as part of the business to register. They must register every address where PPPs and adjuvants are stored, records are kept, they are applied. For example, if the PPPs are stored at two addresses and the records kept at a separate office, all three addresses must be registered.

A business that has PPPs and adjuvants applied by a third party must also register their details. A contractor who applies the product on behalf of a farmer does not need to register the address of their clients, but they should register the address of their own storeroom.

When answering the question on the quantity of PPPs applied in a typical year, Defra has advised that contractors should include the total amount of PPPs and adjuvants applied for all clients and it will not be a problem if there is an element of double-counting because the client is also required to register the quantities.

The form to register can be downloaded at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/professional-plant-protection-products-ppps-register-as-a-user The email address to return it is: GB-OCR-Notification@defra.gov.uk