Farmers and landowners are being reminded that the deadline for BPS 2020 claims ends in a matter of days.
It was announced by the government in April that the deadline to submit claims for direct payments had been extended from 15 May to Monday 15 June.
Farmers and land managers are now being encouraged to submit claims and applications through the Rural Payments Service now.
Helen Gough, who advises farmers at law firm mfg Solicitors, said the Covid-19 crisis may have made it difficult for farmers to meet with their agents and in turn miss key deadline announcements.
“Farmers need to be aware that due to Covid-19 the government has extended the deadline to midnight on 15 June.
"If they need to amend an application they have until the 30 June to do so without incurring a penalty," Ms Gough added.
“Overall, many farmers are at risk of missing or misunderstanding deadlines so the rule of thumb is to engage as quickly as possible with their agents and advisors.”
Applications for the Countryside Stewardship Higher-Tier Scheme ended on 1 May. However, farmers can still apply for a Mid-Tier agreement with applications accepted up until 31 July.
Farmers have been urged to contact Natural England through their off-farm advice programme to book a clinic session.
NFU senior BPS adviser, Richard Wordsworth added that farmers should get their claim in now to the RPA to avoid a late application penalty.
"I would urge you to get your BPS claim submitted as soon as possible if you have not done so to date," he said.
"This will benefit both you and other claimants as the simple fact is it gives the RPA more time to process your claim this year ahead of the payment window opening in December. To me it is a no brainer."
