Vital Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) information on greening and how new and young farmers can receive payments will be available for livestock farmers attending the Smithfield Festival this week.
The latest Defra Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) leaflet is available at the event, held at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, on 4 and 5 December.
In 2015 the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) will be replaced by the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). As part of BPS, farmers must follow the new greening rules or risk losing about 30 per cent of their total EU payment.
The leaflet explains how new farmers could be eligible for new BPS entitlements from the ‘national reserve’, and young farmers can also find out whether they are eligible to claim a top-up payment worth up to 25 per cent of the average value of their entitlements.
Under the new CAP, farming, wildlife, rural businesses and the wider economy in England are set to receive £15 billion in funding from 2014 to 2020.
RPA External Relations Director Arik Dondi said: “People are encouraged to come along to the stand, speak to one of our experts and pick up a copy of the latest CAP leaflet.
“We have promised to make information available at each step of the countdown to the new CAP to help people understand how it will affect them and this leaflet includes vital information which farmers need to know now.
“It is part of our commitment to keep customers informed as and when more detail is known.”
Defra, working with the RPA, Natural England and the Forestry Commission, is determined to implement the CAP in a way that is as simple, affordable and effective as possible.
From next year the way farmers, land managers and agents will apply for schemes and claim CAP payment is changing. Paper applications will be replaced by a new online system.
Nearly 70 per cent of SPS 2014 applications were made digitally. From next year all applicants for the new CAP schemes will need to be registered online.
