As the new Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) looms in to site on 1st January 2015, changes are already afoot with farmers having to make sure this autumn’s planting of arable crops will be compliant with the new Greening measures.
However, another date is also looming that may be of significance for some, which is the deadline for transferring single payment entitlements. This is of importance for several reasons.
First, if one is wanting to transfer entitlements under the new scheme, there are likely to be delays before the transfer is confirmed which may cause unnecessary hassle when completing next year’s forms for the first time. Therefore getting the entitlements transferred under the old scheme will mean they are automatically transferred to BPS entitlements ready for immediate use next year which may make life easier.
Second, and perhaps of more importance for some, the person acquiring the entitlements under the new scheme rules will have to qualify as an “active farmer”, the precise meaning of which is still not entirely clear. This may be of significance for organisations such as wildlife trusts or landowners who may have purchased land but who do not necessarily farm in a traditional sense.
To avoid any concern regarding the interpretation of these new rules, individuals or organisations who think they may be affected by the active farmer test should seriously consider acquiring entitlements prior to the 21st October deadline.
This is not likely to affect very many people or organisations but it could catch some people out who have up until now have been able to make legitimate claims under the existing Single Payment Scheme but this may not be quite so straightforward under the new scheme. Also, farmers who may sell land to such people will have to ensure that the recipient of the entitlements is eligible to receive them otherwise this may upset some land transactions.
No doubt there will be ways of manoeuvring around these rules to achieve the desired result, whether that be through some form of contracting farming arrangement or the like, but if one is looking for a simple life, now may be the time to think about transferring entitlements so as not to get tied up in unnecessary complications or delays in receiving BPS entitlements next year.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
A property blog written and authored by our specialist blogging team, discussing all and any matter relating to the residential, rural and commercial property markets.
Showing posts with label crops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crops. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 September 2014
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
What to do to comply with the new Basic Payment Scheme rules?
As harvest draws to a close and cultivations in readiness for sowing next year’s crops are well under way, farmers still face considerable uncertainty as to what they will need to do in order to comply with the new Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) rules.
As most readers will be aware the Single Payment Scheme, which is the existing EU support scheme for farmers, will be replaced by the BPS from 1st January next year and in so doing farmers will need to comply with a whole raft of new rules, many of which seem to me to be entirely pointless. However, compliance with these new rules will be necessary if farmers are not to lose out on support payments next year.
It seems likely that with many agricultural commodity prices at low levels, these EU support payments will be even more important next year in order to balance the books. However it is frustrating that following the publication of the latest update from DEFRA on the new rules, there are still many questions left unanswered.
In particular some of the rules surrounding Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs), that form part of the “Greening” measures which will affect many arable farmers, are not entirely clear. Under these rules, farmers with more than 15 hectares of “Arable Land” may have to put 5% of their arable land in to an EFA.
The simplest way to do this is to “set aside” 5% of the Arable Land as “fallow”. But care is required to understand both the definition of “Arable Land” land and what will qualify as “fallow”. I do not have space to deal with these complexities here but suffice it to say one can end up with some rather counterintuitive results, which for example will allow temporary pasture to qualify as fallow provided it is not cropped or grazed between 1st January and 30th June. It seems to me this will achieve absolutely nothing of benefit for either farmers or the environment.
Another option is using hedges as a means of claiming the 5% EFA. However, the rules in relation to hedges seem even more confusing. At present it seems clear that if a hedge is bordered directly by arable land in the ownership of one farmer, then the hedge can be claimed. However, if the hedge borders permanent pasture, a road or a neighbour’s land on the other side, it is not clear whether this hedge can be used to contribute to the EFA and if so to what extent.
Further guidance is awaited on this and many other points of detail from DEFRA and so my advice to farmers is to keep things as simple as possible in the first year of the new scheme and plan next year’s cropping on the “knowns” rather than waiting for DEFRA to define the “unknowns”.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
As most readers will be aware the Single Payment Scheme, which is the existing EU support scheme for farmers, will be replaced by the BPS from 1st January next year and in so doing farmers will need to comply with a whole raft of new rules, many of which seem to me to be entirely pointless. However, compliance with these new rules will be necessary if farmers are not to lose out on support payments next year.
It seems likely that with many agricultural commodity prices at low levels, these EU support payments will be even more important next year in order to balance the books. However it is frustrating that following the publication of the latest update from DEFRA on the new rules, there are still many questions left unanswered.
In particular some of the rules surrounding Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs), that form part of the “Greening” measures which will affect many arable farmers, are not entirely clear. Under these rules, farmers with more than 15 hectares of “Arable Land” may have to put 5% of their arable land in to an EFA.
The simplest way to do this is to “set aside” 5% of the Arable Land as “fallow”. But care is required to understand both the definition of “Arable Land” land and what will qualify as “fallow”. I do not have space to deal with these complexities here but suffice it to say one can end up with some rather counterintuitive results, which for example will allow temporary pasture to qualify as fallow provided it is not cropped or grazed between 1st January and 30th June. It seems to me this will achieve absolutely nothing of benefit for either farmers or the environment.
Another option is using hedges as a means of claiming the 5% EFA. However, the rules in relation to hedges seem even more confusing. At present it seems clear that if a hedge is bordered directly by arable land in the ownership of one farmer, then the hedge can be claimed. However, if the hedge borders permanent pasture, a road or a neighbour’s land on the other side, it is not clear whether this hedge can be used to contribute to the EFA and if so to what extent.
Further guidance is awaited on this and many other points of detail from DEFRA and so my advice to farmers is to keep things as simple as possible in the first year of the new scheme and plan next year’s cropping on the “knowns” rather than waiting for DEFRA to define the “unknowns”.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
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