Scotland set to announce CAP reform details

The Scottish government is set to announce the long-awaited detail on how CAP reforms will be implemented, Farmers Weekly has learned.

Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead is expected to make the announcement some time next week (9-13 June), Scottish government officials have said.

The planned announcement added greater urgency to an emergency meeting of Scottish farming leaders, who gathered on Monday (2 June) to discuss budget concerns and in particular how to ensure the deal did not open up new opportunities for so-called “slipper” farmers to siphon away much of the funds.

See also: A round-up of CAP news and features

The meeting between NFUS, NSA Scotland and the Scottish Beef Association was convened ahead of a regular union board meeting on CAP implementation. NFUS president Nigel Miller said: “Discussions are continuing and there’s still time to pull something back, but we haven’t much time left.

“There are serious concerns that the government hasn’t put together a workable deal. We haven’t made significant progress in the past two or three weeks and there are only a few days left to make an impact.”

The Scottish government’s consultation on CAP implementation closed at the end of March, but a spokeswoman confirmed Mr Lochhead was continuing to hold meetings with industry representatives as he finalised the new CAP support package.

Meanwhile, the union has appealed to farmers to support an online petition demanding a managed transition from historic to area-based payments when the new CAP rules come into force next year. NFUS argued that an overnight shift straight to area payments risks undermining the country’s production base.

Take part in the online petition