This action’s aim is that orchards which produce top fruit and permanent bush crops are converted from conventional management to organic management.
The purpose of this is to increase the overall area of land registered and managed as organic.
What you must do
You must:
- protect the trees from grazing livestock and pests, such as deer and rabbits, to prevent serious damage
- manage weeds and vegetation around the base of establishing trees
- follow the organic conversion plan for the land entered into this action and associated livestock, as approved and signed off by your organic control body
- comply with organic standards on land entered into this action from the start of organic conversion period until this action’s end date
- complete organic conversion and register the land entered into this action as ‘fully organic’ before this action’s end date
When to do it
You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of this action’s duration until the land is registered as ‘fully organic’.
Where you can do it
You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:
- registered as ‘in conversion’ with a Defra-licensed organic control body
- used to grow top fruit (such as apples, pears and plums) or bush fruit crops (such as gooseberries and redcurrants) as a commercial crop which is not used to produce alcoholic drinks
- an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Land is not eligible for this action if you’ve either:
- previously registered it with an organic control body
- received organic conversion aid or funding for it
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep:
- a conversion map showing the planting spacing and species within the orchard – you can mark this on any map
- copies of fruit sale receipts to show that the orchards are in commercial production and not used to produce alcoholic drinks
- a copy of the organic conversion plan approved and signed off by your organic control body
- photographs of the trees entered into this action
- a valid organic certificate and schedule for all land entered into this action – this must cover at least the full period of this action’s duration
You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.
