The first payments of the dairy aid package from the EU Commission are being made to UK farmers from this Monday, Defra has announced.
The EU aid package was announced by the European Commission in mid-September to support dairy farmers with cashflow problems due to continued low milk prices and totals €500m across the EU. In total, the UK received £26.6m of support with Northern Ireland receiving £5.1m of this.
Flat rate
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA), based in England, is administering the payments to all UK dairy farmers and Defra has said that 10,000 farmers across the UK have been paid, which equates to three quarters of all eligible farmers, or £19.2m. Defra originally indicated that payments would be made from December.
The payments are calculated on a flat rate based on the level of milk production. In Northern Ireland, this equates to 0.226p/l, which is higher than in Britain due to NI being a milk exporting region that has had particular exposure to the downturn in global dairy markets.
Defra has said that farmers in NI who are not registered with RPA will have their details passed on by DARD and will be added to the RPA system.
DARD have said that payments will be made to 2,250 or 71% of NI dairy farmers immediately, which equates to £3.6 million. The remaining farmers’ details are being checked and verified by RPA, with all payments aiming to be made by the end of the year.
Farming Minister George Eustice made the announcement today. “I hope these payments will now provide some much-needed relief for dairy farmers across the UK,” he said.
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The first payments of the dairy aid package from the EU Commission are being made to UK farmers from this Monday, Defra has announced.
The EU aid package was announced by the European Commission in mid-September to support dairy farmers with cashflow problems due to continued low milk prices and totals €500m across the EU. In total, the UK received £26.6m of support with Northern Ireland receiving £5.1m of this.
Flat rate
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA), based in England, is administering the payments to all UK dairy farmers and Defra has said that 10,000 farmers across the UK have been paid, which equates to three quarters of all eligible farmers, or £19.2m. Defra originally indicated that payments would be made from December.
The payments are calculated on a flat rate based on the level of milk production. In Northern Ireland, this equates to 0.226p/l, which is higher than in Britain due to NI being a milk exporting region that has had particular exposure to the downturn in global dairy markets.
Defra has said that farmers in NI who are not registered with RPA will have their details passed on by DARD and will be added to the RPA system.
DARD have said that payments will be made to 2,250 or 71% of NI dairy farmers immediately, which equates to £3.6 million. The remaining farmers’ details are being checked and verified by RPA, with all payments aiming to be made by the end of the year.
Farming Minister George Eustice made the announcement today. “I hope these payments will now provide some much-needed relief for dairy farmers across the UK,” he said.
Read more
Coveney pledges EU income aid before year end
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