Subsidy payments to farmers may be delayed up to five months, with payments made in March or April 2016, rather than the expected November and December.
Leading land and farming agent, Bell Ingram, says some farms could be left with absolutely no working capital, following an extremely tough year for the sector.
Malcolm Taylor, Head of Land Management at the firm, says the anticipated delays to the new Basic Payment Scheme could leave some farms unable to trade for months.
In addition to the payment delays - the current price and over supply issues in potato farming, the political uncertainty thrown up by recent UK and upcoming Scottish elections, the continued fragility of the UK economy and the unrest in world markets, all add up to make it a very worrying time for Scottish famers.
Malcolm is concerned many famers may see the delays as the final straw, but has urged them to consider AMC financing as an option to bank loans to both safeguard any immediate funding issues and to improve their long-term financial security.
He said: “When it comes to finance everyone likes and needs certainty and that is especially true in the farming world – even before these delays were known.
“The past mild winter has made potato farming in particular very difficult this year with some having to cope with up to £100 losses on a tonne and that is simply unsustainable for those who will not receive their subsidy payments this year, unless they have the luxury of a large amount of capital to call on.
“Then there is the uncertainty over UK and Scottish politics, quantitative easing in Europe, recession in China, oil price uncertainty, unrest in the Ukraine and the European vote – all of which make it a very uncertain world for farmers right now.
“Knowing exactly what a litre of oil will cost and the price of a tonne of fertilizer together with knowing what finance costs are all make budgeting easy."
