Possibility of exemption from plowing and conversion of sensitive meadows – November – 2024 – Press area – News

On October 21, the European Commission validated the French proposal to establish a possibility of derogation from the ban on returning sensitive grasslands.

This exemption from the standard represents progress for Cantal agriculture and follows frequent exchanges between the agricultural profession and state services.

This possibility of exemption will allow farmers to be able to intervene on sensitive meadows in two cases recalled below and under certain conditions, with prior authorization where necessary.

Two types of exemptions are thus provided for in France:

– For farmers facing vole invasions affecting the maintenance of the grass cover of their sensitive meadows, whose infested plots are located in compulsory control zones. Plowing of infested areas is therefore possible without any prior request from farmers.

– For predominantly grassland farms, the objective being to make possible a diversification of the production of these farms to enable them in particular to improve their forage autonomy and encourage the maintenance of their economic activity.

This second exemption is subject to conditions. Eligible are farmers whose useful agricultural area (UAA) is made up of at least 75% of permanent grassland, and who have at least 25% of sensitive grassland on their UAA or at least 10 ha of sensitive grassland, who will thus be able to return at most 25% of their sensitive meadows within the limit of 40 ha. Depending on the share of sensitive meadows in the farm's UAA, a prior request is necessary. A Natura 2000 impact assessment is also required on certain plots.

Find all the practical arrangements for implementing these exemptions at: https://www.cantal.gouv.fr/Action-de-l-Etat/Agriculture/PAC-2023-2027/Prairies-sensibles.

In addition, these exemptions may be subject to control, in particular the eligibility criteria.

The services of the departmental territorial management, in particular its agricultural department, are available to support farmers who would like to take these steps:

22 rue du 139th infantry regiment

BP 10 414 – 15004 Aurillac cedex

mail : [email protected]

tel: 04 63 27 66 00

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