There are only three years remaining of the current system of direct payments to farmers, with the last claim to be made in May 2019, with payments due to be issued by the end of that year.

Clarifying the situation during a meeting with MPs at the House of Commons last week, Defra Farm Minister George Eustice explained just what British Chancellor Philip Hammond meant by his guarantee issued last August that ‘‘CAP Pillar 1 will be upheld until 2020’’.

“Farmers who make an application in May 2019 can expect to receive their payment, all being well, in December 2019 or January 2020,” confirmed Eustice.

It had been thought that the Government guarantee might have covered all of 2020 to include a claim made under the current system in May 2020.

Delay

Unless there is a significant delay in the two-year EU exit process once Article 50 is triggered later this month, that now looks unlikely.

Instead, farmers can expect to be faced with a new system, possibly based around Government-backed insurance schemes and other policies to manage risk, as well as support to encourage improved animal welfare and environmental standards.

“The greatest opportunity in leaving the EU is to devise a better, more coherent domestic policy – it is the real prize, the real gain,” maintained Eustice.