Farmers should have received Basic Payments
Just over half of 2015 Basic Payment claims had been paid by the middle of January and Defra targeted to complete payments for 80 per cent of claimants by the end of that month, writes Charlotte Rogerson.
The majority of the claims that have been processed are small claims so on a land area basis the proportion of claims would be much smaller.
The claimants with penalties applied should have received an explanatory letter. The RPA was trying to make payments on a daily basis throughout January to hit that 80 per cent target but it was never going to happen.
There are two non-payment letters. The first will have been received in November in relation to claimants with common land, cross border claims or 2015 inspections. The second should have been sent by the end of January stating why the claim has not been paid.
If you hadn't been paid by the end of January or received a letter, you should contact the RPA.
With regard to the value of the 2015 payments, it is estimated that the majority of claims in England will be at £73 per acre, about £6 per acre less than last year. Severely Disadvantaged Land will be at £72 per acre (£63/ac in 2014) and SDA Moorland will be £19/ac (£11/ac in 2014).
Entitlement and land transfers (submitted pre-October 2015) should all have been conducted by now although the RPA is aware that some have been delayed or missed.
A substantial number of land corrections will not be completed before the 2016 claim window opens, or even closes. This will mean many 2015 payments will be based on incorrect, estimated/submitted BP5 areas, so expect later corrections to payments.
There will be no need to re-register this year for your claim, although further details may be required. There are known problems with passwords and log-ins so check this in advance.
Applications can be made online and on paper in 2016. There is an online hybrid system for 2016 and claimants will have access to 'Land Viewer', which is Google Earth image overlaid with field parcels. The application will then be a separate system in tabular form, not map-based and the RPA will pre-populate information where possible. There is likely to be direct access to the RPA's main system (SITI-Agri). However further guidance is due to be published this month on what we can expect.
* By Charlotte Rogerson, of Berrys, Shrewsbury