A delay of up to four months for agri-environment scheme payments to farmers in England will put added pressure on farm businesses at a time when thousands are facing low farmgate prices.
 
Natural England has informed the NFU that payments will start being made to farmers in October but the majority of transactions will take place in November and December. This autumn farmers in England are owed £200 million for environmental measures they have carried out.
 
The union said the delay is partly due to IT failures in spring, which led to an extension of the BPS and agri-environment application deadlines.

NFU Vice President Guy Smith commented on Wednesday, “I am extremely frustrated to learn that the first payments under the agri-environment scheme this year will not be made until October, at the earliest.
 
He said, “The NFU understands that the delay is due to the need to cross-check BPS and agri-environment data as part of a requirement under EU regulations,” but added, “The delay is completely unacceptable.”
 
The NFU vice president said that last year, in the final year of the last CAP regime,  payments were made in August, and that this year’s payments should too. Pointing out that the volatility of markets and falling prices across major sectors mean that a large number are farmers are feeling financially stretched, Smith said, “It is vital that farmers get the money they are owed as soon as possible.”
 
“It is important that the Government does all it can to get payments to farmers as soon as possible,” he added. “The NFU will continue to lobby for this to be a priority in the coming months.”