Sheep Annual Premium Payments to be Cut
By FWi staff
The governments new policy of modulation will mean that the first advance payments for sheep annual premium will be even smaller than many farmers were expecting,
The weakness of the euro and this years increases in Continental sheep prices meant that the advance set by Brussels last month was sharply lower than last year, at just 2.42/ewe, with a 3.67/ewe supplement for those in the less favoured areas.
But, according to a statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, these payments are to be cut by another 2.5% and the money diverted to the rural development programme.
“Receipts will be match-funded by the government and in total will generate around 600m of the 1.6bn we expect to invest in rural development over seven years.”
The first advance will now be 2.36/ewe and the LFA supplement 3.58/ewe. The cash should go out in late July.
Producers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will face exactly the same cuts.