Overview

Four regimes ask a farm for a written record: the nitrogen rules, the spray rules, the payment scheme and the deforestation rule on exports to Europe. Each names what to write, when to write it, how long to keep it and who will read it. The pages in this group set out each law in plain words, show where the same duty appears in the EU and the United States, and say what the app keeps for it. Nitrogen applications are logged within seven days. Every spray product is checked against the MAPP register at entry. SFI actions carry their evidence. The compliance pack bundles all of it for an inspection, by nation. A section with nothing in it says “nothing recorded”.

Cartoon of four record cards flowing into a pack folder that is handed to an inspector. — Four records build one pack for the inspector.

The Regimes

One row per regime and jurisdiction. Each page in the group carries the full rule.

Regime	Where	Legal basis	What it asks you to keep	Who inspects
Nitrogen records	England	The Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015 in NVZs [1]; the Farming Rules for Water on every farm [3]	A nitrogen plan for each crop, every application recorded within one week, kept five years, within 170 kg N/ha and N max and outside the closed periods [2]; a soil test no more than five years old	Environment Agency [1][3]
Nitrogen records	Wales	The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 [10]	The same duties on every farm in Wales, kept five years	Natural Resources Wales [10]
Nitrogen records	Scotland	The Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2008 [11]	A fertiliser and manure plan and records in five NVZs, kept five years	Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division [12]
Nitrogen records	Northern Ireland	The Nutrient Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 [13]	Records for the whole territory, prepared by 30 June each year and kept five years	DAERA [13][14]
Nitrogen records	EU member states	Council Directive 91/676/EEC and each state’s action programme [15]	170 kg N/ha from livestock manure, closed periods and records in the programme area, with dates and deadlines set nationally	The national authority; the Commission receives a report every four years [15]
Nitrogen records	United States	State nutrient management laws built on NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 590, for example Maryland, Delaware and Wisconsin [16][17][18]	A written nutrient management plan, soil tests on a cycle, application records and, in some states, an annual report	State departments of agriculture or natural resources [16][17][18]
Spray records	Great Britain	Retained Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 Article 67 [5]; SI 2012/1657 [4]; SI 2020/552 [6]	Product, time, dose, area and crop for every professional application, kept at least three years; a certificate; a tested sprayer; registration	HSE, through its Chemicals Regulation Division [7]
Spray records	EU member states	Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 Article 67; Directive 2009/128/EC [19][20]	The same five-item record kept three years; training, equipment inspection and integrated pest management under a national action plan	The national competent authority [20]
Spray records	United States	EPA Worker Protection Standard, 40 CFR part 170 [21][22]; USDA restricted use pesticide records, 7 CFR part 110 [23][24]	Application details displayed within 24 hours and kept two years; restricted use applications recorded within 14 days and kept two years	State agencies for the WPS; USDA and state representatives for restricted use records [22][24]
Payment on evidence	England	SFI26 scheme rules [8]	Evidence for each action at land parcel level, kept seven years from the agreement end date, with an annual declaration	Rural Payments Agency [8]
Payment on evidence	EU member states	CAP eco-schemes in each state’s CAP strategic plan [25]	Proof of the practice claimed in each year	The member state’s paying agency [25]
Payment on evidence	United States	Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program [26]	Proof of the conservation activities under a five-year CSP contract or an EQIP contract	USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service [26]
Deforestation-free supply	Any farm selling into the EU	Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 [9][27]	Parcel geolocation and dates showing the product does not come from land deforested after the cut-off, given in a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration	The EU operator placing the product, and its competent authority [9]

What The Record Holds

Record	What it does
NVZ Nitrogen Records	Logged within 7 days, retention shown, PDF export
SFI 2026 Evidence	Actions registered, evidence attached, claim packs downloadable
Spray Log with MAPP Check	Every product checked at entry, approval status stored
EUDR Dossier	Parcel provenance for the operator’s due diligence statement
One Compliance Vault	All records, one export, retention stated in one place
Nation-specific Rules	England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how the EU and US differ

References

legislation.gov.uk. The Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015, SI 2015/668.
Defra and Environment Agency, GOV.UK. Using nitrogen fertilisers in nitrate vulnerable zones.
legislation.gov.uk. The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/151.
legislation.gov.uk. The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/1657.
legislation.gov.uk. Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Article 67, as retained in Great Britain.
legislation.gov.uk. The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/552.
HSE. Responsibility for pesticides.
Defra and Rural Payments Agency, GOV.UK. SFI26: scheme rules and guidance.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment. Regulation on deforestation-free products.
legislation.gov.uk. The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, WSI 2021/77 (W. 20).
legislation.gov.uk. The Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2008, SSI 2008/298.
Scottish Government. Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution (Scotland) Regulations 1996: implementation report 2020 to 2023, section 6.
legislation.gov.uk. The Nutrient Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019, SR 2019/81.
DAERA. Nutrients Action Programme.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment. Nitrates.
Maryland Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Nutrient Management: information for farmers.
Delaware Department of Agriculture. Nutrient Management.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Nutrient Management.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety. Approval of active substances, safeners and synergists under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety. Sustainable use of pesticides, Directive 2009/128/EC.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 40 CFR Part 170, Worker Protection Standard.
US Environmental Protection Agency. Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS).
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. 7 CFR 110.3, Records, retention, and access to records.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Understanding Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Eco-schemes.
USDA, Farmers.gov. Myth Busters: Common Misconceptions about the Conservation Stewardship Program.
European Commission, Access2Markets. Delay until December 2026 and other developments in the implementation of the EUDR Regulation.

Getting Started

Field Monitoring

Decision Windows

Nutrient Planning

Crop Protection

Compliance & Records

Farm Management

Account & Data

The Regimes

What The Record Holds

References

​The Regimes

​What The Record Holds

​References

The Regimes

What The Record Holds

References