10 June 2008
POSITIVE START FOR NEW FAIR PLAY ARRANGEMENTS ON OLDER VARIETIES

New farm-saved seed arrangements to deter the false declaration of royalty-bearing varieties as zero-rated are working well, according to BSPB. Since the new system was introduced in Autumn 2007, the Society estimates that evasion of payments through misdeclaration has been reduced by 42% for winter wheat, and by 38% for winter barley.

By law, all previously ‘zero-rated’ varieties - such as Riband, Hereward and Soissons winter wheat - are now eligible for FSS payment and their use as farm-saved seed must be declared to BSPB.  As part of the FAIR PLAY campaign, however, BSPB and the farming unions have agreed that these older varieties will continue to attract a 100% instant refund, subject to verification of genuine use of the declared variety.

Effective verification has been critical to the new system’s success. Last November, BSPB appointed Keith Brown as full-time Farm-Saved Seed Investigator, with the primary task of ensuring that at least 25% of growers declaring previously zero-rated varieties are asked for verification - either through the original certified seed invoice, merchant transactions, seed sample or field inspections.

Six months on, overall declarations of previously zero-rated varieties received via processors and direct from farmers are down on previous years - by around 30% in the case of winter wheat and by 37% for winter barley - and the process of verification is exceeding the original target of contacting one in four growers.

Many growers have opted to submit paper-based records as proof of genuine use, such as the original seed merchant’s invoice or agronomy advice sheets. Others have sent in seed samples for testing or arranged for on-farm leaf samples to be taken. A number of growers, around 10% of those initially declaring older varieties, opted to re-submit their declarations after acknowledging errors in their original forms.

BSPB chairman Thomas Jolliffe is pleased with the progress made, and encouraged by the response from growers.
   
“The new system has worked extremely well, with the vast majority of growers co-operating and understanding the need to provide evidence to support their declarations.”

“Overall, I am confident that these new arrangements will achieve their stated objective, allowing genuine use of older varieties to continue free of charge, while increasing the risk of detection for those who break the rules,” said Dr Jolliffe.    

Contacts for further information:

Dr Penny Maplestone, BSPB.
Tel: 1353 653200
E-mail: penny.maplestone@bspb.co.uk

Issued by Daniel Pearsall, Front Foot Communications.
Tel: 01487 831425
E-mail: daniel.pearsall@frontfoot.uk.com