Don't delay in tapping in to rural grants
We’re now well under way with our Basic Payment Scheme applications for the 2019 scheme and farmers are eager to get their applications submitted and ticked off their to-do list.
The rules are generally the same as 2018, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t triple check all the details.
The Rural Payments Agency has continued its land mapping updates, but the number of parcels amended has been drastically reduced from 1.2 million in 2017 to 180,000 in 2018, with less expected in 2019.
If you receive a notification about a field change that you don’t agree then you will need to let the RPA know via an RLE1 form. Arable farmers in England and Wales should also take care to ensure their hedges are correctly mapped before using them as Ecological Focus Areas.
Large grants are few and far between in both England and Wales at the moment, but smaller grants such as the English Small Grants, English Hedgerow and Boundaries grant, Welsh Farm Business Grant and Welsh Glastir Small Grants are open, or due to open soon.
In Wales the larger Sustainable Production Grant and Timber Business Investment Scheme are also open.
I would urge farmers in England to consider the Countryside Productivity Mid Tier Scheme which is open for applications now until July 31.
There is a plethora of capital works that can be included in the scheme with no maximum, meaning farmers can take full advantage of the fencing, water troughs and hedge works.
Farmers in Catchment Sensitive Farming areas are also eligible to apply for concrete yard renewal, roofing, water storage tanks, hardcore tracks and more. Successful applications I’ve completed have included £36,000 worth of fencing and £35,000 slurry store roofing. However, don’t leave it too late to ask us about this – planning consent needs to be issued for the roofing before July 31.
Glastir Woodland Creation opens on April 1 in Wales. Payments of around £3,600/ha to plant and maintenance payments of £410/ha for the following 12 years mean it is a lucrative payment on ground that is steep or hard work to farm.
A similar scheme is also open in England which offers payments of £1.28/tree (£3,200/ha at a stocking density of 2,500 trees/ha) and maintenance payments of £200/ha for 10 years.
For a round-up of rural grants in England and Wales please see the BPS and Grants page on our website: www.rogerparry.net. We helped over 500 farmers in England and Wales fill in their BPS application forms last year.
Clare Williams is Associate in the new Llanidloes office of Roger Parry & Partners.
