Under a month left to submit milk reduction claim
© Tim Scrivener Dairy farmers accepted on the EU’s Milk Production Reduction Scheme (MPRS) have just under a month to submit their claim for payment.
More than 1,800 UK farmers applied for the scheme, which offered payments to producers who reduced the amount of milk they produced between 1 October and 31 December 2016.
The scheme will pay farmers the equivalent of 12.2p/litre if they cut production by agreed levels over that period.
See also: 1,800 UK farmers apply for EU dairy reduction scheme
To claim their payment, farmers are now required to submit an MPRS2 form [pdf] to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by 14 February 2017.
Proof
The claim form must be accompanied by documentation that proves the total reduction in milk deliveries made during the relevant period.
Proof could be a copy of a milk cheque or purchaser statement for each of the relevant months.
Photocopies are acceptable.
Payment will be made direct to the bank account details held by the RPA and should arrive by the start of April.
Second round
A second round of the scheme will make payments to farmers who reduce production between 1 November 2016 to 31 January 2017.
However, funding for this round of the scheme was extremely limited because it was so heavily subscribed the first time.