DEFRA has announced more details on how the single farm payment scheme will affect some commoners and owners of common land in England.

All applicants will have to be "farmers" as defined by EU legislation - either engaged in production and/or keeping the land in good agricultural and environmental condition.

Payment entitlements will be issued according to the proportion of total grazing rights they hold on the common.

Stocking rates will be set for the various types of common and will be compared with the total grazing rights on the common.

Where the total grazing rights do not create the risk of overstocking, it will be open to the common owner, who must also be a farmer, to claim entitlements on the surplus grazing.

Lord Whitty, Farming Minister, said the commons were a legally complex area.

"I know that some will be disappointed that we have not chosen to allocate the entire area of commons to current users, for them to claim entitlements," he said, "but not only would this have generated unwarranted windfalls, it also raised some legal questions about future access for those rights holders who may acquire entitlements on the market.

"I am convinced that we have chosen a fair solution to a difficult and complex problem."

Defra also announced further details concerning the national reserve.

* New entrants will have their allocation based on the land they held on November 2, 2004, provided it was not used for dairying or the production of other previously unsubsidised commodities.

For each hectare of qualifying land, their reference amount will be increased by the area average value of entitlements.

* Farmers who invested in land or production capacity by May 15, 2004, as part of an investment plan will have their allocation based on the difference between their reference amount and subsidy receipts in 2004, calculated on a scheme by scheme basis.

* Farmers who received land that was leased to a third person during the reference period, from a farmer who died or retired before May 16, 2005, will have their reference amount increased by the area average value of entitlements for each hectare received.

* Farmers who, between the end of the reference period and May 15, 2004, leased land for six years or more, or bought land which was under lease during the reference period, will receive an allocation provided their holding is not used for dairy production.

For each additional hectare of land their reference amount will be increased by the area average value of entitlements.

* Farmers who voluntarily converted, during the reference period, and by May 15, 2004, from milk production into another production sector which previously received subsidies will have an allocation based on the difference between their reference amount and the claims actually made during the first full scheme year after conversion.

* Farmers who participated in the Energy Crops Scheme during the reference period will receive an allocation, based on a set rate per hectare, for each hectare they had under the scheme.

* Farmers who participated in nationally-funded agri-environment schemes during part of the period 1997-2002 will receive an allocation based on the difference between their subsidy receipts for the year before joining the scheme, in respect of those subsidies affected by participation in the scheme.

For those participating in a scheme for the whole of the period 1997-2002, their allocation will be based upon the difference between the average area value of entitlements and the initial value of their entitlements for each hectare they had in the scheme.

* For a number of national reserve categories leases need to be of six years or more duration. Tenancies under the Agricultural Holdings 1986 Act will qualify, even if their initial term is less than six years.

* Farmers who participate in EC-funded agri-environment schemes are covered by the hardship provisions of the EC regulations, not the national reserve.

Those who participated in schemes for the whole of the period 1997-2002 will have their reference amount enhanced by the difference between the average area value of entitlements and the initial value of their entitlements for each hectare they had in the scheme.

Lord Whitty said that, with the national reserve, they had tried to achieve as fair a system as possible, but without making things unduly complicated forarmers