Cross Compliance Research Articles

Evaluation of environmental and economic effectiveness of the Cross Compliance 4.3 Standard ‘Maintenance of olive groves and vineyards in good vegetative conditions’

This paper reports the first observations made in three farms of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) relating to the environmental monitoring of the Standard 4.3 'Maintenance of olive groves and vineyards in good vegetative conditions' and analysis of differential of competitiveness for both crops.

Experimental study on investigation of dynamics of hexapod robot for mobile machining

Mobile machining with industrial robots is proposed to be a cost-effective and portable alternative to large-scale CNC machine tools in machining of large-scale parts designed in aerospace, nuclear manufacturing and energy industries. Although robotic machining offers several potential advantages, it is also subject to major technical challenges. In this paper, the dynamics of a hexapod platform utilized for robotic milling is investigated in terms of rigidity, position-dependent dynamics and cross compliance caused by the complex kinematic chain. Considering the dynamic flexibility of the robotic platform, its effects on tool-tip dynamics are examined. The effect of the robot position relative to the workpiece on the dominant modes observed in transfer functions is discussed, which may be further used to locate the robot to attain better stability depending on the case. The dynamic responses at the moving platform and at the tool tip are measured through tap tests. Although the paper does not focus on modelling, the results can be generalized to mobile machining with hexapod robots.

Bringing Evaluation into the Policy Cycle

This contribution seeks to overcome the isolation of evaluation studies fromthe broader field of public policy analysis. Using as a case study the hybrid regulatory tool of cross compliance under the Common Agricultural Policy, the article charts the ongoing incorporation of ex ante and ex post evaluation processes over a ten year period, during which three major legislative reforms were undertaken. Anchoring its approach in the public policy work of Kingdon, the article emphasises the significance of the plurality of actors involved in the evaluation processes, the importance of timing, as well as the challenge to models of policy processes based on assumptions of rational linearity. In particular, the article demonstrates how the dis–ordering which may be observed in the stages of the policy process may equally be seen in the stages of policy appraisal. A particular focus is placed on the way in which objectives and indicators are defined and re–defined over time. The case study demonstrates that through policy appraisal, policy makers may learn what is, and what is not capable of being measured, which feeds back into the re–setting of objectives.

Cross Compliance as payment for public goods? Understanding EU and US agricultural policies

Cross Compliance (CC) is a mechanism for encouraging farmers to fulfill certain environmental conditions in return for governmental support payments. Introduced to United States (US) and European Union (EU) agricultural policy from the 80s onwards, upcoming new US (Farm Bill 2012) and EU (Common Agricultural Policy after 2013) policies will include CC. Cross Compliance is seen (i) as a policy for enforcing environmental objectives or (ii) as a way to organize and reward agricultural public good production. In recent years, the instrument's effectiveness and efficiency have been criticized. To validate the deviating understandings, we drew back on an economic institutionalist perspective. We found that regarding EU CC as payment for public goods does not generally align with the existing German property rights distribution. In both the EU and US, CC standards above those contained regulatory law have characteristics of a payment for public goods but create severe problems. We conclude that CC, even if useful for triggering and broadening environmental protection efforts, may cause several long-term problems. Therefore, the rights structure should be clearly communicated, law enforcement function should be temporary, the instrument should be included in an overall concept, and payments should be better linked to the environmental output.

The effect of pectins and xanthan gum on physicochemical properties of egg white protein foams

The study analyzed the influence of the degree of apple pectin methylation and the concentration of xanthan gum on physicochemical properties of fresh wet egg white protein based foams. Molecular characterization of applied hydrocolloids was performed and amino acid composition of proteins was established. First, essential physicochemical properties of the starting solutions, i.e. density, surface tension and hydrophobicity, were analyzed, and electrophoretic analysis of the solutions was carried out. Density and content of the gaseous phase in the continuous phase were determined. The image analysis allowed assessment of the size distributions of gas bubbles and, subsequently, cross compliance of the population of obtained bubbles was performed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Next, using the maximum likelihood method, three distributions, i.e. Weibull, log-normal and gamma distributions, were matched to one another. The results showed that the log-normal distribution provided the best description of the bubble distribution.

Agri-environment scheme enhances small mammal diversity and abundance at the farm-scale

The decline of farmland biodiversity over much of Europe has been largely attributed to agricultural intensification. Since the 1970s, governments have introduced agri-environment schemes (AES) aimed at mitigating this impact, but information on their success is limited. A five y, farm-scale experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of England's Environmental Stewardship AES in enhancing the species richness and abundance of small mammals (voles Cricetidae, mice Muridae, and shrews Soricidae) in an intensively-farmed arable landscape.Small mammal communities were sampled in spring and autumn on grassy field margins installed under the Entry Level Scheme (ELS) tier of Environmental Stewardship, where 1% of cropped land was converted to wildlife habitats. Results were compared with those from field margins on a second, experimental treatment (ELS Extra: ELSX) in which 5% of cropped land was taken out of production, and also field margins on a conventionally-farmed control treatment (‘cross compliance’: CC). Species richness and abundance of small mammals showed a significant increase on all treatments in spring and autumn. Many increases were greater on ELS and ELSX field margins compared to the CC controls, but there was little evidence that ELSX was more beneficial than ELS, and there were species-specific differences. Voles were not detected on any treatment in the initial sampling period but bank voles Myodes glareolus rapidly became abundant thereafter, particularly on ELS and ELSX field margins, and field voles Microtus agrestis also colonised. Wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus were present on all treatments in all sampling periods, but spring abundance declined as vole abundance increased.These results suggest that the Entry Level Scheme tier of the English agri-environment scheme is effective in enhancing small mammal communities on arable farmland, with potential benefits for higher trophic levels via their predators.

The Case for Regulation of Agricultural Water Pollution

Agricultural water pollution is one of the most challenging environmental problems of our times, one which remains unresolved after 13 years of the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD). It is argued that the WFD is not deficient; in fact, it provides both the environmental targets and the legal impetus for Member States to reduce pollution in their waters; Member States have simply failed to follow through on the requirements the WFD process has made apparent. This article makes the argument that there remains significant room for use by Member States of tighter regulation, tailored to individual catchments. Although this is a difficult and perhaps expensive process, it is necessary if WFD goals are to be achieved. Unfortunately, less intrusive economic instruments are of highly doubtful utility when applied to agricultural pollution. Moreover, a vehicle for the partial implementation of such regulation exists: the strengthening of ‘cross compliance’ conditions on the receipt of Common Agricultural Policy payments.

An integrated social and ecological modeling framework—impacts of agricultural conservation practices on water quality

Daloğlu, I., J. I. Nassauer, R. Riolo, and D. Scavia. 2014. An integrated social and ecological modeling framework—impacts of agricultural conservation practices on water quality. Ecology and Society 19(3): 12. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06597-190312

Biodiversity Protection in European Union Agriculture

Biodiversity conservation is an important element of EU environmental policy and it influences certain instruments of the Common Agricultural Policy (agri-environmental programmes, cross–compliance rules, organic farming support). These play an increasingly important role in this policy. However, in some Member States they are insufficiently directed to nature conservation. Direct payments affect an increase in threats to biological diversity, although this impact was restricted in the course of the CAP reform (implementation of a regional system combined with cross-compliance rules). Moreover, the withdrawal or significant reduction of the instrument would result in even greater losses. Low effectiveness of existing activities contributes to the continuous degradation of biological diversity in European rural areas: the specialized payments for farmers in the Natura 2000 network are implemented to a limited extent, specialised support directed for High Nature Values (HNV) farming has not yet been introduced in practice, execution of cross-compliance rules was insufficient. In years 2014-2020 nature conservation within the CAP will grow in importance and it will implicate improvement of the effectiveness of actions implemented in the Member States.

The Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy: Meeting the Environmental Challenge

Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) currently provides that protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union policies and activities, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable In practice, European environmental law and policy is wide ranging in scope. It includes pollution control, the protection of biodiversity and the need to address climate change. To focus on one of these areas, the EU has given itself the target of halting biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystem services by 2020. Its biodiversity strategy acknowledges the European Union's reformed Commn Agricultural Policy will have a key role to play if this target is to be met. Against this background, this paper examines the developing proposals to reform European Agricultural Law in relation to the ongoing process of integrating environmental protection requirements into the Common Agricultural Policy. In particular, the paper focuses upon the function of cross compliance and of the proposed greening component in incorporating environmental issues within the direct payments regime under pillar one of the Common Agricultural Policy. It also examines the effectiveness of theagri-environment and natural handicap schemes within rural development.

The harmonised data model for assessing Land Parcel Identification Systems compliance with requirements of direct aid and agri-environmental schemes of the CAP

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies to farmers are administered through dedicated information systems, a part of which is the GIS-based Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). The requirement to map and record land eligible for payments has led to a situation where the agricultural administrations have acquired a large amount of geographic data. As the geospatial community of data producers, custodians and users has grown during the last decades, so has the need to assess the quality and consistency of the LPIS towards the EU regulations on the CAP as well as for cross compliance with environmental legislation. In view of this, a LPIS Conceptual Model (LCM) is presented in this paper in order to address harmonisation and data quality needs. The ISO 19100 series standards on geoinformatics were used for LCM development, including an UML modelling approach and the handling of the quality of geographical information. This paper describes the core elements of the LCM and their integration with data supporting management of agri-environment schemes. Later, the paper shows how the LCM is used for conformity and quality checks of the member states' LPIS system; an Abstract Test Suite (ATS) for mapping the LCM model against existing system implementations was developed and tested in collaboration with several member states.

The Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy: Meeting the Environmental Challenge

Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) currently provides that protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union policies and activities, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable In practice, European environmental law and policy is wide ranging in scope. It includes pollution control, the protection of biodiversity and the need to address climate change. To focus on one of these areas, the EU has given itself the target of halting biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystem services by 2020. Its biodiversity strategy acknowledges the European Union's reformed Commn Agricultural Policy will have a key role to play if this target is to be met. Against this background, this paper examines the developing proposals to reform European Agricultural Law in relation to the ongoing process of integrating environmental protection requirements into the Common Agricultural Policy. In particular, the paper focuses upon the function of cross compliance and of the proposed greening component in incorporating environmental issues within the direct payments regime under pillar one of the Common Agricultural Policy. It also examines the effectiveness of theagri-environment and natural handicap schemes within rural development.

Farm-level assessment of CO2 and N2O emissions in Lower Saxony and comparison of implementation potentials for mitigation measures in Germany and England

Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agricultural farming practice contribute significantly to European GHG inventories. For example, CO2 is emitted when grassland is converted to cropland or when peatlands are drained and cultivated. N2O emissions result from fertilization. Enabling farmers to reduce their GHG emissions requires sufficient information about its pressure–impact relations as well as incentives, such as regulations and funding, that support climate-friendly agricultural management. This paper discusses potentials to improve the supply of information on: farm-specific climate services or impacts, present policy incentives in Germany and England that support climate-friendly farm management and related adaptation requirements. Tools which have been developed for a farm environmental management software (to be added after review because of potential identification) are presented. These tools assess CO2 emissions from grassland conversion to cropland and peatland cultivation, as well as N2O emissions from nitrogen fertilization. As input data, the CO2 tool requires a classification of soil types according to soil organic carbon storage. The input data based on soil profile samples was compared with reference data from the literature. The N2O tool relies on farm data concerning fertilization. These tools were tested on three farms in order to determine their viability with respect to the availability of required data and the differentiation of results, which determines how well site-specific conservation measures can be identified. Assessing CO2 retention function of grassland conservation to cropland on the test farms leads to spatially differentiated results (~100 to ~900 potentially mitigated t CO2 ha−1). Assessed N2O emissions varied from 0.41 to 1.1 t CO2eq. ha−1 a−1. The proposed methods support policies that promote a more differentiated funding of climate conservation measures. Conservation measures and areas can be selected so that they will have the greatest mitigation effects. However, even though present policy instruments in Germany and England, such as Cross Compliance and agri-environmental measures, have the potential to reduce agricultural GHG, they do not appear to guide measures effectively or site-specifically. In order to close this gap, agri-environmental measures with the potential to support climate protection should be spatially optimized. Additionally, the wetland restoration measures which are most effective in reducing GHG emissions should be included in funding schemes.

Potentials and limitations of natural flood retention by forested land in headwater catchments: evidence from experimental and model studies

AbstractAssessment of catchments water retention potential in the landscape is a common part of management plans as components of integrated flood risk management strategies. For forest land use, it has been stated that the promotion of sustainable forest management and the increase of forest land via afforestation will considerably improve flood retention. Notably, the latter should be efficient to re‐establish the natural water retention potential in anthropogenically disturbed river basins and to decrease the human‐made contribution to flood generation. However, due to obvious physical limitations (such as soil depth, porosity, and conductivity) and the frequent lack of available land for forest expansion, the role of afforestation in flood mitigation has been a topic of strong debate. This study assesses the ‘forest effect’ based on model calculations and suggests visualisations to communicate the results. For a catchment (6.8 ha) and two well‐founded land‐use scenarios, it could be shown that the peak reduction for flood events varies from 3% to 70% and is highly related to the event characteristics (especially pre‐event soil moisture). The cross compliance to other protection aims (i.e. water quality and soil protection) is part of the considerations.

Environmental services coupled to food products and brands: Food companies interests and on-farm accounting

Much research has been carried out on governmental support of agri environmental measures (AEM). However, little is known about demands on and incentives from the commercial market for environmental contributions of the farmers. The factors farm structures, level of remuneration and legal framework have been thoroughly investigated. However, demands of the food industry for environmentally friendly goods11Agricultural commodities that are produced by using environmentally friendly management practice, such as low fertilizer inputs, avoidance of pesticide application or special mowing techniques in order to protect soil, water, species and habitats. and their effects on farmers' decisions have not yet been analyzed. Leading companies in the food industry have observed an increasing consumer awareness and, due to higher competition, see an additional need to communicate environmental benefits which result from either organic production methods or agri-environmental measures.To address this research deficit, two case studies were carried out. The first case study is a survey aimed at the industrial food producers' demands with regards to the environmental performance of supplying farms. Concurrently, within a second survey farmers were questioned to find out what conditions are required to implement agri-environmental measures beyond cross compliance and document their environmental performance. This article presents the outcomes of the first case study.The results show that food companies have an interest in the documentation of environmental benefits of supplying farms for their marketing strategies. Provision of support by finance or contract-design is also seen as appropriate tool to promote an environmentally friendly production. In turn the food producers' demand and support for documented environmental services can have a positive influence on farmers' decisions for implementation and documentation of these services. Thus, the surveys provide essential findings for further development of documentation strategies for environmental benefits within the supply chain.

El control de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en España: costes para los sectores agrarios

Empleando un modelo dinámico recursivo de equilibrio general computable (EGC) de la economía española, este estudio analiza el impacto de las políticas medioambientales de Kioto y de la Unión Europea (el acuerdo ‘20/20/20’), sobre distintas actividades agrarias hasta 2020. En comparación con el escenario de referencia, se pronostican caídas en el PIB y el empleo de un 2,1% y 2,4%, respectivamente, en 2020, mientras que el índice de precios al consumo sube un 3,4%. En agricultura, el índice de producción (que cae un 4,3%) y el de precios (aumenta un 7,7%), empeoran y además los ingresos acumulados de los agricultores bajan 1.510 millones de euros en 2020. El impacto más acusado en el sector agrario se atribuye a la mayor intensidad de sus emisiones donde se estima un coste marginal de reducción de 86 € t-1 de CO2 equivalente para 2020, lo cual es consistente con las estimaciones existentes en la bibliografía. Además se observa que la combinación óptima de reducción de emisiones en los diferentes sectores agrarios depende del grado de sustitución de las actividades emisoras. A la vista de las pérdidas de ingresos observadas en el sector agrario, se contempla un escenario de mitigación de coste-cero para los agricultores, semejante a un pago de condicionalidad, entre 2013 y 2020. Los resultados señalan una mitigación en el incremento de los precios de los alimentos y una redistribución en la combinación óptima de las emisiones en los sectores agrarios.

Modelling the Linkages between Cross‐Compliance and Agri‐Environmental Schemes Under Asymmetric Information

AbstractAgri‐environmental schemes (AESs) and cross‐compliance (CC) are the two main components of the common agricultural policy (CAP) that address environmental issues. Under regulation 1698/2005, agri‐environmental scheme design has been established in such a way as to use CC as the baseline against which prescriptions and payments are identified. In this framework, agri‐environmental payments to farmers are justified only for the component of public goods produced (if any) above the CC prescription level. This constraint has become a major determinant of the design of agri‐environmental schemes in all EU Member States in which both instruments are implemented. This paper investigates farmer participation, compliance choices and the socially optimal level of monitoring when CC and agri‐environmental schemes are jointly considered, and when information about compliance is asymmetrically distributed between farmers and the public regulator. The results show that the two policy instruments interact with each other, with agri‐environmental payments actually providing incentives for CC, when the CC monitoring and sanction system does not guarantee full compliance. However, the numerical example in Emilia‐Romagna (Italy) demonstrates that with the present combination of controls and sanctions, farmers have very little incentive to be compliant with both cross compliance and agri‐environmental schemes. Hence, the results highlight that monitoring in CC or in AES does not have the same effect on the farmers’ compliance. This underscores the need for further research in this field, particularly as provision of environmental goods becomes more important in the future CAP.

Implementing Cross Compliance for Agriculture in the EU: Relational Agency, Power and Action in Different Socio‐Material Contexts

AbstractThe cross compliance instrument is an EU wide policy mechanism that ties the payment of the remaining agricultural subsidies to compliance with environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards. Policy negotiations concerning the exact nature of the conditions in individual Member States draw on different environmental and economic circumstances and differing interpretations of farmers' role in the rural environment. This article reports on two case studies of decision‐making concerning the national cross compliance rules in England and Finland. Actor Network Theory is employed in order to understand how socio‐economic and environmental contexts combine to influence and constrain interviewed decision‐makers and the propositions they make regarding power and action in the implementation of the cross compliance mechanism. The approach uncovers some significant differences in the normative logic of how cross compliance is interpreted and delivered in the studied countries and highlights how ‘baseline environmental standards’ imply very different obligations for farmers in different member states. It is evident that a more flexible policy approach is needed to achieve a minimum level of environmental protection throughout the EU.

Note: Bending compliances of generalized symmetric notch flexure hinges

The bending compliances of generalized notch flexure hinges with transverse or transverse-and-axial symmetry are studied in two particular reference frames. For an end-point reference frame, the cross compliance and the rotary compliance are proportional. When the reference frame is placed at the flexure's midpoint, the cross compliance is zero. The translatory and rotary compliances of only half the flexure hinge are sufficient to calculate the overall compliances of a transverse-symmetry flexure configuration. Similarly, the overall bending compliances of a flexure hinge with transverse-and-axial symmetry require prior calculation of the translatory and rotary compliances of a quarter flexure solely.

Innovative olive-growing models: an environmental and economic assessment

The Italian olive-growing sector has to face both the growing competition on the international olive oil market and the shift of the common agricultural policy (CAP) from market and price policies towards direct aids decoupled from production. In addition the olive growers, as other farmers, have to comply with stricter obligations to manage their farms in sustainable ways (cross compliance). In this scenario the sector needs new competitive strategies to address these new challenges. In this paper we assess if innovative olive-growing models, like the high trees density orchards, are able to reduce production costs without worsening environmental sustainability. Indeed the intensive olive systems produce higher yields within a few years of planting and allow a higher level of mechanization (pruning and harvesting) but they could generate higher environmental impacts. In this study we perform an environmental and economic assessment of two olive-growing systems: the “High Density” (HDO) and the “Super High Density” (SHDO). The analysis integrates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods by using a common database. The environmental analysis carried out through LCA has shown a better performance of the HDO system for all the impact categories, due to a lower use of energy and chemical inputs and to higher olive yields. Also from an economic point of view the HDO could be considered more convenient than the SHDO: in fact, despite the lower operating costs of the latter due to the complete mechanization of pruning and harvesting operations, these costs are counterbalanced by higher initial investment costs that the company has to face which are three times those of the HDO system. The total result is that the Net Present Value is better for the HDO for each olive price level. This result is mainly driven by lower plantation costs, longer production cycle, higher production of olives and higher efficiency in the use of inputs which characterize the HDO model.