On Sunday (1st May), The Rural Payments Agency announced that all farmers in England had received either their full 2015 direct payments or bridging payments worth half the value of the BPS claim value.

In total, over 7,000 farmers who were still awaiting their 2015 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments received bridging payments over the weekend. RPA said more than 90 percent of farmers had received their full 2015 BPS payments by the end of last week.

Rural Payments Agency Chief Executive Mark Grimshaw said, “These payments have been made by the end of April, as promised, to help remaining applicants facing financial pressures.

“With around 55% of anticipated 2016 claims already submitted or underway, we are helping those still to apply to meet the 16 May deadline. All farmers should complete their application before the deadline even if they are waiting for the balance of the 2015 payment. Once verified, the system will automatically update their claim with any new information.”

Have you received your 2015 payments? The Rural Payments Agency announced in May that it had made either 2015 payments or bridging payments to all claimants, but some farmers have disputed the claim. Take our poll here.