All those who applied under the first round of the Countryside Productivity Small Grants Scheme should now have been contacted by the RPA to say whether they have been successful or not. Those who have not received an e-mail should, firstly, check their junk mail folder and then contact the RPA. Those that have been […]
As the 2018 BPS ‘claim season’ is nearing its end, just a few reminders. The deadline for applications to be submitted, to avoid late application penalties, is midnight on May 15th. This includes applications and supporting evidence for the Young Farmer Payment and applications to the National Reserve. It is still possible to make a late […]
Those who grew sugar beet during 1999 and 2000 are due to receive a payment from the EU. This follows a ruling from the European Court of Justice that the EU overcharged growers when collecting a levy (which was discontinued from 2006). The total fund for the UK is estimated at around £6m which will […]
The 2018 BPS application window in England is now open. Guidance All the scheme guidance, forms and continuation booklets can be found on the dedicated BPS 2018 page on Gov.UK at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bps-2018?dm_i=4G3E,75XJ,330Y6P,RWC4,1 this includes: Basic Payment Scheme : rules for 2018 BPS Key dates 2018 BPS Land use codes Greening workbook for 2018 Winter varieties […]
Countryside Stewardship Scheme Similar to last year, delays are expected in issuing Countryside Stewardship Agreements. Although the problem is not expected to affect as many potential agreement holders as the previous year, there are still going to be a significant number of Mid-tier Agreements due to commence on 1st January 2018 which will not have […]
The Welsh Government is making available £1,800 to each dairy farmer who collates and submits farm data for a benchmarking report. To qualify for the funding the data must be completed in a specific spreadsheet supplied by AHDB and returned by 30th June. The fund is available to dairy farmers in Wales who had a […]
BPS 2017 The Single Application Form (SAF) will be available to complete via RPW Online from 6th March 2017. Claimants can access RPW Online from the following link http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/farmingandcountryside/rpwonline/?lang=en. Guidance and further information will also be available from this web link from 6th March. The deadline for BPS application is 15th May this year. Similar to […]
The 2017 BPS application window is just round the corner (!) and it appears the process and the system will be very similar to last year. There is no desire from DEFRA/RPA to significantly alter the system due to its possible short shelf-life in the wake of Brexit. There is also no budget for major upgrades. It […]
Prevention Zones to help stop the spread of Avian Influenza (AI) remain in place across the whole of Great Britain until at least 28th February 2017. If there is no change to the assessment of risk between now and the end of February, a targeted approach will be put in place in England after that […]
The Environment Agency (EA) has released details of the proposed Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) for 2017. These are updated every four years along with the rules which need to be followed. Under the proposals there are some new designations as well as some areas that have been removed. Approximately 58% of England is designated as […]