BPS 2019 exchange rate confirmed

Under EU rules support payments for UK farmers are set in euros
Under EU rules support payments for UK farmers are set in euros

Farmers look set to receive Basic Payment Scheme payments with a value very close to last year's, it has been confirmed.

Under the rules of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), support payments for farmers across the UK are set in euros.

This is then converted to Sterling using the average European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rate recorded across the month of September.

The exchange rate used to calculate the value of payments made to farmers in 2019 has been confirmed at €1=£0.89092.

This is almost exactly the same as in 2018, when the rate was €1=£0.89281.

For a lowland farmer in England, this was around £228/ha after the Financial Discipline Mechanism had been applied.

Andrew Atkinson, senior associate director with Strutt & Parker, said: “It has been confirmed this will continue to be the case, even if the UK does leave the EU on 31 October.

“It is interesting to note that with grain prices significantly lower than in 2018, this means that, even taking this year’s higher yields into account, the BPS will make up a greater proportion of farm income than it did last year.

“And it’s a similar situation for beef producers, who have seen their sale values fall significantly over the last few months.

“This highlights its important contribution to farm profitability and emphasises the importance of farms preparing for BPS payments being phased out,” Mr Atkinson said.

The exact value of each entitlement will not be confirmed until November, as it is based on the total number of hectares of eligible land claimed for in each region.

The value of BPS payments for a 200ha lowland (non-SDA) farm in England (including greening and after Financial Discipline has been applied) have been as follows: 2018 - £228.56/ha; 2017 - £227.88/ha; 2016 - £212.81/ha; 2015 - £178.95/ha.