***Important Announcement – Crop Diversification Rule for BPS 2020***

In order to assist farmers who are struggling to establish crops, DEFRA has confirmed today that the crop diversification greening requirement for BPS, commonly known as the “three crop rule” will not apply for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2020 applications.   Due to the nationwide catastrophic flooding and persistent wet weather throughout February 2020, farmers […]

Posted on March 20th, 2020 by

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME?

In this blog Mike Cluley gives a very brief summary of the main points of the new Agricultural Bill that is passing through parliament so that consideration can be given as to what businesses should expect and the things that they should consider with the likely changes to future farm payments. Agricultural policy in the […]

Posted on March 4th, 2020 by

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME 2020 AND CROP DIVERSIFICATION UPDATE

Despite the persistent inclement weather, spring is “technically” here and the BPS season is only just around the corner. Mike Cluley takes a quick look at the Basic Payment Scheme 2020 with a particular focus on what the options are to comply with the Crop Diversification rules under Greening given the consistent wet weather which […]

Posted on March 4th, 2020 by

Exceptional weather allows for agreement adjustments

With the unusually hot and dry weather conditions, Natural England and the Rural Payments Agency have made adjustments to some options for those farmers who have experienced difficulties. These include issues with failed establishments for Wild Bird Food Plots, Catch Crops and the capacity to allow grazing where there may be a fodder shortage. The […]

Posted on September 18th, 2018 by

What do we know about farm subsidies post Brexit?

The Agriculture Bill was published last week and now gives a clear idea of what the post Brexit policy will be in regards to the future subsidy regime and environmental schemes. In summary the Basic Payment will be phased out completely by 2028 and will be subject to reductions in payments in the interim periods. […]

Posted on September 17th, 2018 by

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME 2017 ENTITLEMENT VALUES UP APPROX 7%

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has just announced the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme entitlement values in advance of the BPS 2017 Payment window which starts on the 1st December. As a result of both the exchange rate (set as an average over September) and a slight increase in value of the the basic and greening […]

Posted on November 20th, 2017 by

BPS 2018: CHANGES TO ‘GREENING’ RULES IN ENGLAND

  Here is an update to the Greening Rules for 2018 as the RPA have made some significant changes to the options available for Ecological Focus Areas. Ban on the Use of Plant Protection Products on Land Used as Ecological Focus Areas A ban on the application of PPP’s applies to land to be used […]

Posted on October 12th, 2017 by

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME 2016 – LATEST NEWS

As many of you will be aware, the RPA have now launched the new Basic Payment Scheme application system on their Rural Payments Service. The system uses the “Siti-Farmer” software that Carver Knowles used extensively in 2015 for many of our client’s BPS applications. As a result of our understanding of the software we are […]

Posted on March 29th, 2016 by

BPS payments 2015

RPA TO START TO MAKE BPS PAYMENTS FROM 1ST DECEMBER   We understand that he RPA has confirmed that at least 30,000 claimants (35%) should receive their BPS 2015 payment when the payment window opens on 1st December. Inevitably this is likely to be more straightforward BPS claims that have required the least amount of additional validation […]

Posted on November 27th, 2015 by

What do I need to do to comply with the Greening rules of the BPS in 2016?

Mike Cluley from Carver Knowles in Worcestershire helps us to understand. The Greening rules are a compulsory requirement of the Basic Payment Scheme. They contribute to approximately 30% of the value of their total BPS claim value. If a farmer does not comply with the rules they will lose some or all of their “greening” […]

Posted on September 22nd, 2015 by