A couple of administration reminders as we approach the end of the year. The Soil Protection Review (SPR) needs reviewing and updating by 31st December. Secondly, make sure any changes to the farmed area have been reported to the RPA in order for the Rural Land Registry (RLR) maps to be updated. Changes such as […]
Following on from the CAP consultation launched on the 31st October (see previous article), Natural England has released the fourth edition of its Scheme Development Bulletin. This gives more details of the new Rural Development schemes from 2015 and transitional arrangements for 2014. Transitional Arrangements Under Environmental Stewardship, ELS, Organic ELS and Uplands ELS are now closed […]
The Scottish Governmenthas confirmed that the main elements of the existing Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) will continue into 2014. As we have written previously (see July article), current Rural Developement schemes are due to end on the 31st December 2013. However, delays in agreeing CAP reform means that the replacement programmes will not be ready until […]
Latest figures from DEFRA show that 17,367 cattle were slaughtered as TB reactors, inconclusive reactors or direct contacts between January 2013 and June 2013. This is almost a 5% fall from the same period last year. In England 13,820 cattle were slaughtered while Wales saw 3,527 cattle killed and 20 in Scotland. New incident numbers also fell […]
Agent Project This probably sounds more glamorous than it really is. An ‘agent’ in RPA terms is simply someone who fills out Single Payment forms on behalf of others. The RPA has been running a pilot scheme giving those who complete applications for more than five businesses (SBIs) a single point of contact for all their clients […]
The second year of the Welsh Government’s badger vaccination project has started. The work, which is undertaken in three weekly cycles, is expected to be completed by the end of October. The project is expected to last for five years within the Intensive Action Area (IAA) in North Pembrokeshire and is part of the Welsh […]
The pilot scheme to assist those who submit multiple SPS claims on behalf of clients is to be extended to all agents. The initial pilot allowed multiple SBIs to grouped with a single Whole Case Worker, to minimise the number of Case Workers authorised agents had to deal with. The feedback from the project has […]
As the 2012 Dual Use gathering exercise draws to a close the RPA has announced a further one in 2013. Most claimants selected last year have now responded and it has either been found that the eligibilty requirements can be met for both schemes (SPS and RDP) or they are not actually in a dual […]
Last month we wrote about the financial assistance for farmers to reimburse them for removing fallen sheep due to the adverse weather conditions. DEFRA has made £250,000 available. It has now released details on who can apply for this fund and how. The National Fallen Stock Company (NFSCo) will administer the scheme, although farmers do […]
The Weather and Coding The RPA has issued updated guidance on how to code fields for SPS 2013 given the very poor weather and crop conditions. This can be found in the ‘Current Single Payment Scheme FAQs’ under ‘SPS 2013 Land Use Codes’. In summary, it suggests that the code OT1 be used where a […]