Young farmers who started farming from 1 January 2010 will be eligible for the National Reserve and Young Farmers’ top-up scheme.

Initially, it was thought that the cut-off point was 1 June 2010. This will increase the number of young farmers eligible.

While the farmers who started in the first half of 2010 will only get one year’s Young Farmer top-up, more important is access to the National Reserve, where they can get up to 90 new entitlements or a top-up on existing ones. There is huge interest reported for the National Reserve and Young Farmer top-up, with over 500 farmers already starting the online application process.