With only three weeks left to go until the deadline for submission of the Single Application Form (SAF) to claim the 2014 Single Farm Payment (SFP), a backlog is building up with local form-fillers as farmers and landowners make up their minds on what land to submit this year.

Despite the application process being open since early March (for online submissions), by last week DARD had only received 3,524 completed SAFs out of a possible 37,000 forms – the line from the Department remains: ‘‘Get the SAF submitted early and do it online.’’

The final number of claimants this year is expected to reduce slightly as a number of landowners who have no intention of becoming an ‘active farmer’ in 2015 drop out after selling their entitlements.

But it is this process which is responsible for some of the delay as farmers and landowners try to come to an arrangement suitable to both parties.

“There remains a lot of confusion out there. There has been lots of information, but little clear explanation,” said one local form-filler.

Others said they were close to being inundated with queries. One was also critical that the METS scheme has been opened for applications in the middle of their busiest time.