The Department of Agriculture is gearing up for implementation of the new schemes that will be rolled out from January 2015. The Single Farm Payment (SFP) will be replaced by the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), with farmers getting a greening payment top-up.
The first major step is the launch of the Department’s new online system this week. The Irish Farmers Journal took a look at the system before it was released.
There has been rapid growth in online applications since the system was introduced in 2007. Reduced errors, increased efficiency and a user-friendly system have been the main drivers behind the rise (see graph). In 2014, 80,003 SFP applications were submitted online, most of which (85%) were through advisers and consultants.
However, despite the obvious benefits, nearly 50,000 farmers continue to submit paper applications. The Department is planning to get most farmers to register and submit applications to all schemes online by a combination of making the system easier but also making online applications mandatory for GLAS and greening for arable farmers.
The reasoning is simple. All GLAS applications must be done by an authorised planner who will be trained on the system to submit online applications. It will help farmers get paid quickly by fast-tracking the processing. “If we stayed with the paper applications like we had in REPS it would take much longer to pay farmers,” was the comment I received back.
The greening system for arable farmers is being pushed this way due to the complexity of the system.
From this Friday, when farmers log in to their agfood.ie account, they will see a very different system.
The latest news from the Department will be continually updated with reminders and deadlines in the largest box. Three smaller boxes will show the status of the farmer’s online application, their entitlements and any recent correspondence from the Department.
The new greening box is broken into crop diversification and Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). Most farmers will see the message “green by definition” in these, which means they automatically get the top-up payment. There are three ways for farmers to get this green light:
If they submitted 75% or more of the land as grass, either permanent pasture or temporary grassland, and have less than 30ha of arable crops.If they have all arable land, and have submitted 75% or more as temporary grassland.If they are a certified organic farmer.The arable farmers who don’t get the greening by definition message will look to the greening calculators that have been developed.
Based on the crops and areas submitted in the application, these screens will automatically work out what you need to do for crop diversification and greening.
It will initially take what farmers submitted in 2014 but will update it once a farmer or adviser puts in the 2015 parcel and crop details. For crop diversification, farmers with between 10ha and 30ha of arable crops have to have two crops, one of which cannot be over 75% of the area. Farmers with over 30ha will have to have three crops, one of which cannot be over 75% of the area and one must be over 5%.
The crop diversification calculator allows farmers to alter their cropping plans to see what is needed to comply.
EFAs are much more complicated, with a completely new layer imposed on the map system to show what the Department believes is eligible on the farm as EFA. Arable farmers will be sent a full set of these maps in mid-November. They will be asked to review the maps and submit any changes online. It is the first step to ensuring you get your greening payment next year.
Andy Doyle will go into EFAs and crop diversification in more detail next week.
The timeline for implementation is shown on the facing page. The deadlines are very similar to the previous scheme deadlines. One thing that I learnt is that for every day the application is late after 15 May, a farmer not only gets penalised 1% of his/her 2015 payments but an additional 3% on the value of his/her entitlements as a farmer when applying for new entitlements under the BPS in 2015. That’s 4% per working day in total – this is a massive amount, so don’t miss the deadline. Another difference is that farmers will get two advance transfers in mid-October – their basic payment advance and a separate greening advance shortly after.
Text services
“Your advance payment SFP has been issued” is the one text message that is always well received by farmers. At this stage the Department has 83,607 farmers who have registered their mobile phone numbers to receive text messages. They range from payment confirmation to scheme deadline to animal health issues. The Department uses them sparingly, and farmers can opt out of getting them at any time. They have the mobile numbers of another 30,000 farmers who have not registered for texts. Ideally, the Department would like to get 100% of farmers signed up. To do this they are writing to all farmers in the next week. One letter is for farmers for whom they do not have a mobile number. They want these farmers to submit the form with the details or go online and register to get the texting service. These farmers will also be signing up for a streamlined system where the adviser and farmer will be linked electronically for the purpose of applying online. The system will allow the farmers to text specific answers to Department texts, cutting paperwork. For example, one text will be “Mr Adviser has elected to act as you agent for BPS 2015. Please text Y to confirm or N to deny”. If the farmer replies Y, they will be linked to agent and a confirmation will be sent by email/post including terms and conditions to the farmer and agent. If they reply N, they will not be linked. Farmers who are already on the system will get a letter informing them about the new service.
Planning ahead for the BPS
The arrival of the advance Single Farm Payment in the last week has flicked a switch for many farmers.
Up to now, the biggest concern was receiving the Single Farm Payment for this year. With the advance safely arrived in the bank account and the balance on the way in December, more farmers are starting to think about the implications in 2015.
“Will I drop rented land?” is the most common question being currently asked.
The way the new system is set up, the number and value of entitlements you establish is driven by two elements. For the amount of money, it is the value of entitlements you held on 15 May 2014. This has now being set, with the only changes been for those who will qualify for the national reserve. The national reserve scheme is due to open in December for applications.
The second element is the area. The Department will look at the number of hectares you applied on in 2013 and in 2015 and take whichever is the lower. The 2013 area has been set as the maximum so the only thing farmers can do to influence is reduce the number of hectares they submit in 2015. Farmers should ask themselves:
Am I likely to continue to be able to rent/lease the land after 2015?Can I make a profit out of renting the land?Dropping land in 2015 will increase the value per hectare on the fewer entitlements you will establish. If you are over the national average, this will expose you to greater cuts through convergence. You can work out estimated cashflow up to 2019 on the IFJ SFP calculator on www.farmersjournal.ie. You should also talk to your adviser.
If you drop land in 2015 you can rent it again in 2016. However, be warned, you have to submit all the land you farm in 2015. If a parcel goes missing on your application in 2015 and does not appear on someone else’s application you can expect an inspection and the consequences it will bring.
The Department of Agriculture is gearing up for implementation of the new schemes that will be rolled out from January 2015. The Single Farm Payment (SFP) will be replaced by the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), with farmers getting a greening payment top-up.
The first major step is the launch of the Department’s new online system this week. The Irish Farmers Journal took a look at the system before it was released.
There has been rapid growth in online applications since the system was introduced in 2007. Reduced errors, increased efficiency and a user-friendly system have been the main drivers behind the rise (see graph). In 2014, 80,003 SFP applications were submitted online, most of which (85%) were through advisers and consultants.
However, despite the obvious benefits, nearly 50,000 farmers continue to submit paper applications. The Department is planning to get most farmers to register and submit applications to all schemes online by a combination of making the system easier but also making online applications mandatory for GLAS and greening for arable farmers.
The reasoning is simple. All GLAS applications must be done by an authorised planner who will be trained on the system to submit online applications. It will help farmers get paid quickly by fast-tracking the processing. “If we stayed with the paper applications like we had in REPS it would take much longer to pay farmers,” was the comment I received back.
The greening system for arable farmers is being pushed this way due to the complexity of the system.
From this Friday, when farmers log in to their agfood.ie account, they will see a very different system.
The latest news from the Department will be continually updated with reminders and deadlines in the largest box. Three smaller boxes will show the status of the farmer’s online application, their entitlements and any recent correspondence from the Department.
The new greening box is broken into crop diversification and Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). Most farmers will see the message “green by definition” in these, which means they automatically get the top-up payment. There are three ways for farmers to get this green light:
If they submitted 75% or more of the land as grass, either permanent pasture or temporary grassland, and have less than 30ha of arable crops.If they have all arable land, and have submitted 75% or more as temporary grassland.If they are a certified organic farmer.The arable farmers who don’t get the greening by definition message will look to the greening calculators that have been developed.
Based on the crops and areas submitted in the application, these screens will automatically work out what you need to do for crop diversification and greening.
It will initially take what farmers submitted in 2014 but will update it once a farmer or adviser puts in the 2015 parcel and crop details. For crop diversification, farmers with between 10ha and 30ha of arable crops have to have two crops, one of which cannot be over 75% of the area. Farmers with over 30ha will have to have three crops, one of which cannot be over 75% of the area and one must be over 5%.
The crop diversification calculator allows farmers to alter their cropping plans to see what is needed to comply.
EFAs are much more complicated, with a completely new layer imposed on the map system to show what the Department believes is eligible on the farm as EFA. Arable farmers will be sent a full set of these maps in mid-November. They will be asked to review the maps and submit any changes online. It is the first step to ensuring you get your greening payment next year.
Andy Doyle will go into EFAs and crop diversification in more detail next week.
The timeline for implementation is shown on the facing page. The deadlines are very similar to the previous scheme deadlines. One thing that I learnt is that for every day the application is late after 15 May, a farmer not only gets penalised 1% of his/her 2015 payments but an additional 3% on the value of his/her entitlements as a farmer when applying for new entitlements under the BPS in 2015. That’s 4% per working day in total – this is a massive amount, so don’t miss the deadline. Another difference is that farmers will get two advance transfers in mid-October – their basic payment advance and a separate greening advance shortly after.
Text services
“Your advance payment SFP has been issued” is the one text message that is always well received by farmers. At this stage the Department has 83,607 farmers who have registered their mobile phone numbers to receive text messages. They range from payment confirmation to scheme deadline to animal health issues. The Department uses them sparingly, and farmers can opt out of getting them at any time. They have the mobile numbers of another 30,000 farmers who have not registered for texts. Ideally, the Department would like to get 100% of farmers signed up. To do this they are writing to all farmers in the next week. One letter is for farmers for whom they do not have a mobile number. They want these farmers to submit the form with the details or go online and register to get the texting service. These farmers will also be signing up for a streamlined system where the adviser and farmer will be linked electronically for the purpose of applying online. The system will allow the farmers to text specific answers to Department texts, cutting paperwork. For example, one text will be “Mr Adviser has elected to act as you agent for BPS 2015. Please text Y to confirm or N to deny”. If the farmer replies Y, they will be linked to agent and a confirmation will be sent by email/post including terms and conditions to the farmer and agent. If they reply N, they will not be linked. Farmers who are already on the system will get a letter informing them about the new service.
Planning ahead for the BPS
The arrival of the advance Single Farm Payment in the last week has flicked a switch for many farmers.
Up to now, the biggest concern was receiving the Single Farm Payment for this year. With the advance safely arrived in the bank account and the balance on the way in December, more farmers are starting to think about the implications in 2015.
“Will I drop rented land?” is the most common question being currently asked.
The way the new system is set up, the number and value of entitlements you establish is driven by two elements. For the amount of money, it is the value of entitlements you held on 15 May 2014. This has now being set, with the only changes been for those who will qualify for the national reserve. The national reserve scheme is due to open in December for applications.
The second element is the area. The Department will look at the number of hectares you applied on in 2013 and in 2015 and take whichever is the lower. The 2013 area has been set as the maximum so the only thing farmers can do to influence is reduce the number of hectares they submit in 2015. Farmers should ask themselves:
Am I likely to continue to be able to rent/lease the land after 2015?Can I make a profit out of renting the land?Dropping land in 2015 will increase the value per hectare on the fewer entitlements you will establish. If you are over the national average, this will expose you to greater cuts through convergence. You can work out estimated cashflow up to 2019 on the IFJ SFP calculator on www.farmersjournal.ie. You should also talk to your adviser.
If you drop land in 2015 you can rent it again in 2016. However, be warned, you have to submit all the land you farm in 2015. If a parcel goes missing on your application in 2015 and does not appear on someone else’s application you can expect an inspection and the consequences it will bring.
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