Are farmers allowed to plough across footpaths?

Near me, on one of my regular dog walks, there’s a couple of paths across farmers fields. Every year these get ploughed across, meaning they turn into virtually impassable mud baths. Is the farmer allowed to do this or should he avoid them?

You can plough but you need to leave a path through crops. As far as I remember (farmers son) you could always walk round the edge of the field. Some days I wish there were footpaths through people’s offices and factories.

AFAIK, yes they can.

Yeas, he is allowed to plough cross field footpaths and bridleways, and is then permitted a further two weeks to complete works and reinstate the path.

Some days I wish there were footpaths through people’s offices and factories.

Well you see, it’s unlikely (unlikely, not impossible) that they would of been allowed to build across a right of way that has been used by people for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Yes just trying to imagine how other people at work would deal with the fun of row’s. For the sake of walking round the edge of a field.

possibly to ROW did go round the edge of the field until the hedgerows got torn up and the fields made larger / more ‘efficient’?

Bit of common sense on both sides maybe, it’s not as if it’s all mayhem across the border for instance.

I am not a rights of way officer, but, I think you are only allowed to walk across a field by the footpath. If it has been ploughed up and not reinstated in the time limit stated above then you can still only reinstate it yourself – no choosing your preferred route round the outside.