Derogation requests for non-organic forage

We know many farmers are anxious about securing sufficient forage for their livestock this year due to the dry weather conditions over the past few months.

Organic farmers can submit a derogation request to DEFRA for using non-organic forage in catastrophic circumstances. If your farm has experienced a catastrophic circumstance with the recent weather and you are a Soil Association certified licensee, please reach out to us at farming.growing@soilassociation.org or call us on 0117 914 2412 where we’ll explain the application process and the level of scrutiny that goes into the DEFRA derogation request form.

The DEFRA request form asks various questions such as duration of derogation and livestock type. Once you have completed it, please send it to us where we will review and submit this to DEFRA on your behalf. DEFRA will then write to us (usually within 10 working days) to confirm if a non-organic forage derogation can be approved and for how long.

Farmers in England facing forage shortages this summer can also apply for temporary adjustments to Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) grazing rules. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will consider derogations case-by-case to ease pressure caused by severe local droughts across parts of the UK. Livestock farmers can apply via the SFI query form or the Countryside Stewardship Minor and Temporary Adjustment (MTA) form.

Please discuss any concerns you have about feeding your organic livestock with us.