Farmers urged to take action to avoid BPS delays

Farmers in England who failed to submit a key form to back up their 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application have just over a month to get them to the Rural Payments Agency.

RLE1 forms are the document used to notify the RPA of any permanent ineligible features (PIFs) which have not been previously mapped.

In previous years, many farmers simply subtracted any PIFs from the total area claimed, however the RPA has insisted all of them must be mapped in 2015.

See also: Basic Payment Scheme – a guide to all four UK regions

This raised concerns during the busy BPS application period, with farm leaders successfully arguing that it placed undue pressure on farmers and their agents.

As a result the RPA agreed to extend the deadline for RLE1s from 15 June to 30 September.

This means farmers now have just over four weeks left to get their forms in.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Evans, deputy minister for farming and food in Wales, has urged any farmers who have received a query about their Single Application Form (SAF) to respond to it as soon as possible.

The SAF is used by farmers in Wales to make their BPS claims.

The deputy minister said she wanted to ensure there was no unnecessary delays so farmers could be paid as early in the payments period as possible.

Ms Evans said: “I am very aware of the importance of cashflow for farmers, which is why I want to encourage any farmers who have received a letter or notification via email or text message from Rural Payments Wales to respond as promptly as possible.

“This year’s SAFs have taken longer to complete compared with previous years because this is the first year of the new Basic Payment Scheme. Farmers have been required to provide a lot of additional information under the new regulations, which has taken time, but farming unions and agents worked tirelessly to help farmers with their forms to help meet the deadline.

“Now that the SAFs have been submitted, I want to make sure part payments under the BPS can be made as early in the payment window as possible.”

Welsh farmers were told last November that the intention was to pay farmers in two installments.

Producers have been told they will get about 80% of the payment as early as possible, with the remaining 20% by May 2016 once all cross-checks have been completed.