THE COSTS OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF MANAGING SET-ASIDE LAND WITHIN THE EUROPEAN-COMMUNITY

With low annual income from compensatory payments in the European Comm unity set-aside scheme, the cost of managing such land is critical, Th e scheme was designed to temporarily remove land from production of ar able crops that are in surplus. Based upon field experiments in the UK , over 2 years and 5 years, respectively, cultivations and herbicides are shown to be more expensive than mowing for vegetation control on s et-aside land. They are highly effective but until recently have been discouraged by The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on envi ronmental grounds, Mowing has been shown to cost less even when a fina l application of herbicide is included. In the 5 year set-aside scheme mowing does not produce serious agronomic problems for future crops, It is therefore recommended as the most appropriate management method. Hay-making on set-aside land is unlikely to be economically viable.