Website launched to cut farm paperwork burden

DEFRA is hoping to slash the amount of time farmers spend on paperwork by moving ten services online to a single website.

DEFRA’s Whole Farm Approach portal has moved to Business Link , where farmers will be able to access tools and services, including RPA Online to manage Single Payment Scheme claims and CTS Online to report cattle births, deaths and movements.

Land owners and managers can also use the site to access Entry Level Stewardship Scheme Online to make ELS claims.

DEFRA said bringing farmers to the Business Link website meant all the information farmers needed to run their business was in one online location.

Using the online transactions should reduce the amount of time farmers need to spend completing regulatory paperwork, it added.

Business Link’s farming section provides farmers with information and guidance on planning, best practice and understanding government requirements.

The site is divided into sections including farm business planning, funding schemes and grants, protecting farm environments, livestock management, crop production and organic farming.

Users of the WFA portal will be automatically redirected to Business Link, where they can log in with their existing access codes.