Glastir uptake figures due at end of year

With just days to go before Wales’ new farmland management scheme gets underway, applications are still being submitted.

The Welsh Government is unable to reveal just how many farmers have joined Glastir because it is still receiving application forms from farmers.

“We won’t have final figures until the end of December,’’ said a Welsh Government spokesperson.

The contracts will start on January 1st with farmers who join in the first year receiving a retrospective payment at the end of 2012.

The Welsh Government will be hoping for a bigger uptake than the initial response. A review group was established after less than 3,000 farmers signed up and it recommended 70 changes, although not all of these were accepted.

Glastir was first unveiled in 2009 and is set to replace five land management projects.