Understand your duties, not guess the paperwork
Most fines don't come from bad intent — they come from not knowing exactly what has to be recorded, and when. Here we explain the logic behind the rules, and we're upfront about where you need to look up the official, binding text.
These articles explain how a duty is built and what information it requires. They deliberately name no deadlines, thresholds or dates, because those change and differ by Bundesland. For the binding, current state, we link the responsible source at the end of every article. This is not legal advice.
| Duty | Who it applies to | Explained |
|---|---|---|
| Determine and record fertiliser demand Go to module | Farms that fertilise | Read the guide |
| Identify cattle and report events Go to module | Cattle-keeping farms | Read the guide |
| Keep the register for pigs, sheep and goats Go to module | Farms keeping pigs, sheep or goats | Read the guide |
| Keep a livestock register and report antibiotic quantities Go to module | Livestock keepers who use veterinary medicines | Read the guide |
| Plant protection: application, certified competence, sprayer inspection Go to module | Farms that apply plant protection products | Read the guide |
| Record working time Go to module | Farms with employees | Read the guide |
| Assess and document workplace hazards Go to module | Farms with employees | Read the guide |
| Keep records tamper-proof (GoBD) Go to module | All farms required to keep accounts | Read the guide |
| Store, transport and document manure Go to module | Farms that produce or receive manure | Read the guide |
| Document biosecurity in pig farming Go to module | Pig-keeping farms | Read the guide |
| Document conditionality and landscape features Go to module | Farms receiving area-based payments | Read the guide |
Animal Health
Animal Identification
HI-Tier for cattle – which events get reported, and who's liable
Birth, arrival, departure, death: which events belong in the cattle database, why every notification involves two farms, and how discrepancies with the census report arise.
Pigs, Sheep and Goats – Keeping the Register and Reporting the Census Date
For these species the farm doesn't report individual animals – it keeps a register and reports a headcount on the census date. What the register has to contain, why it has to be kept even without HI-Tier access, and where discrepancies come from.
Bookkeeping
CAP Funding
Fertiliser Law
Documenting fertiliser requirement – what's required, and in what order
The Fertilization Ordinance requires a calculation before you fertilise, and a record afterwards. What belongs in each document, why the order matters, and where inspections most often find gaps.
Storing, moving and documenting organic manure
Anyone storing, sending or receiving slurry, manure or digestate keeps three separate records. What belongs in each, why the storage tank is a duty of its own, and where inspections most often find gaps.
Occupational Safety
Plant Protection
Veterinary Medicines
Working Time
Documentation that holds up under scrutiny
FarmManager captures the evidence right where the work happens — so the paperwork is already done by the time someone asks to see it.