Skip to content
PhytAI
Sign in
Duties

GAEC 6 minimum soil cover in Germany: 80 per cent until year end

GAEC 6 requires soil cover on 80 per cent of arable land until 31 December. Which cover counts, what special deadlines apply, what the planthopper exemption means.

PhytAI editorial teamPublished 6 min read

Key points

  • Basic rule: minimum soil cover must be ensured on at least 80 per cent of the arable land until the end of 31 December.
  • What counts: permanent crops, winter crops, green cover and catch crops, no ploughing after harvest, and coverings such as films or fleece.
  • Heavy soils: cover optionally only from harvest until 1 October.
  • Early spring crops in the following year: cover from harvest until 15 October.
  • Ridges: between pre-formed ridges, natural regrowth from 15 November to 31 December is sufficient.
  • Planthopper exemption: after beet, potatoes, carrots, onions and other crops in designated areas, no cover duty.

Try PhytAI free for 30 days

  • No payment details needed
  • Export all your data as CSV, JSON and Shapefile at any time
  • from €59.00 a year
Try free for 30 days

After harvest, many arable fields enter the period in which standard GAEC 6 applies. It is meant to prevent soils from being left without growth or cover during the most sensitive months. In Germany the rule is set out in section 17 of the CAP Conditionality Ordinance (GAPKondV). It is more flexible than many think: not only catch crops count, but also stubble, mulch or not ploughing. This article explains what counts as cover, which special deadlines exist for heavy soils, early spring crops and ridge crops, and what the exemption for the planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus means.

What counts as minimum soil cover

The 2026 conditionality brochure of the Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia lists five options:

  1. Permanent crops grown according to good practice that remain on the field until the end of 31 December.
  2. Winter crops sown as early as possible after harvesting the main crop or after ploughing.
  3. Green cover including natural regrowth, or catch crops, established as early as possible after harvest and present until 31 December. Catch crops may be harvested, used or grazed before 31 December as long as the cover remains.
  4. No ploughing from harvest until 31 December, including stubble, mulch layers, crop residues left on the field and mulching, non-inversion tillage.
  5. Coverings with films, fleece, fine-mesh nets or similar, as early as possible after harvest until 31 December, unless the crop rows have already closed.

Switching between these options is allowed as long as cover is ensured on every day of the period. Inversion tillage is permitted if it serves to change the type of cover by immediate sowing, for example ploughing followed directly by sowing a winter crop.

Special deadlines

Heavy soils

On heavy soils or soils with at least 17 per cent clay, the farm may choose to provide cover only from harvesting the main crop until 1 October. According to the brochure, heavy soils are certain soil types from the German soil assessment classification, for example L, T, LT and sL. Leaving the main crop standing until 1 October also meets the duty.

Early spring crops

If an early spring crop is grown in the following year, cover from harvest until 15 October is sufficient. The brochure lists, among others, spring cereals except maize and millet, legumes except soybeans, spring oilseed rape, sunflowers, potatoes, beet, vegetables, clover grass and arable grass, each when sown or planted at the earliest possible date.

Ridge crops, fruit and vines

On arable land with ridges pre-formed for planting in the following year, it is sufficient to allow natural regrowth between the ridges from 15 November to 31 December. In vineyards and orchards, natural regrowth must be allowed between the rows during the same period unless a sown green cover already exists.

Planthopper exemption

The planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus transmits diseases that mainly damage sugar beet and potatoes. To combat it, a temporary exemption has applied since 2026: arable fields where beet, potatoes, beetroot, chard, carrots, swedes, onions or celery were the main crop are exempt from the cover duty after harvest if no following crop and no catch crop is grown in the current year.

Two restrictions are important. The exemption applies only in areas designated for this purpose by the competent authorities. And fields where the exemption is used are excluded from the arable area on which the 80 per cent is calculated. The remaining fields must still reach the quota.

Organic farms and Omnibus III

Regulation (EU) 2025/2649, known as Omnibus III, allows simplifications for certified organic farms and farms in conversion, including for GAEC 6. According to the brochure of the Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia, these provisions are currently being transposed into German law; the Federal Ministry of Agriculture expects them to enter into force, possibly retroactively, during 2026. Until then the duty also applies to organic farms. For the status of the legislative process see GAEC 7 crop rotation in Germany 2026.

Evidence in autumn

An on-the-spot check between harvest and year end looks at whether fields are covered. It helps to record for each field:

  • harvest date of the main crop
  • type of cover, such as a catch crop with sowing date, winter crop with sowing date or stubble without ploughing
  • every tillage operation after harvest with implement and date
  • for special deadlines, the reason, such as soil type or planned spring crop
  • for the planthopper exemption, the location within the designated area

Common mistakes

  • stubble ploughed after harvest without sowing anything straight away
  • catch crop incorporated in November although no special deadline applies
  • deadline of 15 October used, but maize sown in the following year after all
  • planthopper exemption assumed outside a designated area
  • 80 per cent calculated on total arable land instead of arable land without exempted fields

How to proceed on the farm

  1. Plan fields after harvest: which fields get a winter crop, catch crop or stubble?
  2. Calculate the quota: is the covered share at least 80 per cent?
  3. Check special deadlines: clarify soil type, following crop and ridges for each field.
  4. Record tillage: enter every tillage operation after harvest with the implement, especially ploughing.
  5. Document exemptions: for the planthopper exemption, file the federal state's announcement.

GAEC 6 in PhytAI

PhytAI evaluates crop cycles and field operations per field. A field counts as covered with a permanent crop, grass or green fodder, fallow, a winter crop for the following year or a catch crop operation from July. An operation with a plough after harvest without later cover is marked as "ploughed". Stubble and mulch without ploughing also count under section 17, but without an operation they are not documented and therefore appear as "open". The special deadlines are named in the notice; the calculation uses 31 December. PhytAI is not an approval.

Frequently asked questions

May I graze the catch crop before 31 December? Yes, harvesting, use and grazing are possible as long as the cover remains.

Does cultivating count as ploughing? Mulching, non-inversion tillage is allowed, even in several passes, if cover is ensured on every day.

Does GAEC 6 apply to permanent grassland? The 80 per cent rule concerns arable land. For fallow or set-aside arable land and permanent grassland, mowing, shredding and tillage are prohibited from 1 April to 15 August.

Sources

This article reflects the situation on the date shown, based on the sources named, and is not legal advice. Laws, approvals, official decisions and the guidance of the competent authorities prevail.

Related articles

All articles on the blog