Documentation on the farm

To ensure traceability and correct follow-up, documentation is required at farm level.

An up-to-date crop production plan must be available and that presents planned and implemented field measures such as sowing, fertilization and plant protection, including dates. When using plant nutrients and plant protection, the type of product, quantity and date must be noted. The documentation must include the date of the measures, the amount and type of inputs and the reasons for plant protection treatments. The information must be documented on an ongoing basis and stored for at least five years.

For the fields covered by the contract, up-to-date soil mapping must be available. The soil mapping must be no more than ten years old and form the basis for needs-adapted plant nutrient supply.

A plant nutrient balance for the company must be available and updated within the last five years. The plant nutrient balance is used to follow up on how nutrients are added and removed from the farm.

The farmer must be able to present evidence for the purchase of biofuels, seeds and seeds for catch and cover crops.

Plant nutrition and plant protection

Mineral fertilizer used for the main nitrogen application must be manufactured according to BAT (Best Available Technique) technology, which means that a lower climate impact occurs in fertilizer production. For winter oilseed rape, the requirement applies to both autumn and spring application. Only fertilizer products that can prove their climate performance according to the criteria are approved.

When spreading mineral fertilizer after incipient straw shooting, the nitrogen application must be adapted to the measured need. Spreading is done using technology that enables a variable application across the field, such as an N-sensor or equivalent technology, alternatively CropSAT or tractor-mounted sensors. The purpose is to adapt the nitrogen supply to the actual needs of the crop. This does not apply if only one nitrogen level is given in connection with the sowing of spring crops.

The use of pyrethroids is restricted. Pyrethroids may only be used in special situations, such as when the risk of virus transmission has been established or when control thresholds have been reached, and then under crop-specific conditions.

Energy and fuel use on the farm

Fieldwork must be carried out with renewable fuels, such as HVO100 or RME100. The reference consumption is 65 litres of biofuel per hectare of contracted area. If the farmer can prove a lower actual consumption with approved technology, this level can be used as a basis.

The grain dryer must be powered by renewable fuel. If this is not possible, this must be compensated for by additional purchases of renewable fuel for field work. Follow-up is carried out by checking invoices and separately auditing energy criteria.

Biodiversity – elective criteria

For measures linked to biodiversity, the farmer chooses to make two measures from a predefined list. All measures are scientifically based, site-bound to the connected farm and are checked during audits.

Larch plots must be established in the same field as the contracted crop, and on average two larch plots of about 16-20 square metres per hectare must be established. This measure is only applicable to autumn crops.

Catch and intermediate crops must be sown on at least ten per cent of the contracted area. Sowing must take place in a growing crop or as soon as possible after harvest. Mining may take place on 10 October at the earliest, and the crop may not be transferred to the main crop the following year.

Edge zones must be established with a minimum of 40 square metres per hectare. The zones must be between six and ten metres wide and completely free of plant protection products.

For each hectare in the programme, flowering zones or legume-rich ley may be established on productive arable land. A seed mix must be used and perennial seed mixtures are approved. Legume-rich ley must contain at least 20 per cent legumes and may not be harvested during specified periods.

Bird fields can be chosen as a measure and must then be established according to the established species composition. The field must be left unthreshed until 20 February of the year after harvest at the earliest.

The seed of the concept crop shall be primarily biologically or thermally treated and certified, with certain crop and situation-dependent exceptions.

Deviation management

During audits, it is checked that the criteria in Climate & Nature are met through documentation and control in the field. Any deviations are followed up within the framework of the independent third-party audit. In order for the cultivation to be approved within the programme, relevant requirements and verification documents must be met.

A third-party audit ensures that criteria in Climate & Nature are followed, by having an auditor from a certification body review documentation and check production. The audit is carried out in accordance with IP Sigill's requirements for independent certification audits, where any deviations are noted.

Deviations are handled according to Sigill's practice for deviation management, and in order for production to be approved, it is required that the deviation is rectified within a certain time.