The Rural Payments Agency has announced it has received over 12,000 of the more than 80,000 expected applications for the first Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

There are four weeks to go before the 15th June deadline. The Agency said it has now sent out everything farmers will need to make their claims -  though the NFU pointed out last week that some specialist information was not issued before the Agency’s target of 1st May.

The Agency is urging applicants to act as quickly as possible, rather than waiting until the last minute to submit claims.

On Tuesday, the RPA also released more information on greening elements of the new regime, after admitting that the most persistent concerns voiced by farmers to RPA staff have been around the greening component of the new scheme, as well as submitting the BP5 schemes.

All guidance for farmers still needing to apply for BPS can be found at www.gov.uk/rpa/bps The RPA helpline for those who require assistance with applications, or who have specific questions is 03000 200 301.

Clarification on grass strips

RPA also issued clarification on buffer strips taken out of production; this was one of the areas of concern cited by the NFU. The union has campaigned to see that farmers are not penalised for infractions which are beyond their control in this first year of the scheme, and has been scathing about the BPS roll-out.

The European Commission has clarified that arable land taken out of production under certain agri-environment scheme options retains its arable status rather than being treated as permanent grassland once it leaves the scheme.

So, if land is in grass for 3 years and is then set aside under an agri-environment agreement for say 5 or 10 years, on completion of the agreement it will be treated as the fourth year of temporary grassland (provided the land is still in grass). This means, in this example, the land would still be considered to be temporary grassland on completion of the agreement, which would affect greening calculations.

More detailed guidance will be forthcoming on 18th May.