A common scenario farmers might have is where they have cleared an area of scrub and put the land back into production for 2017. They now want their BPS application to reflect the increase in eligible area.
The Maximum Eligible Area (MEA) is determined by the Department and it is not possible to automatically amend the MEA but you may request a change if, for example, you have cleared out scrub and want to increase your eligible area or if you have taken out a site for a house/roadway/farm building and want to decrease your eligible area.
Area Increase
To request an increase in area to one greater than the MEA tick the “Request Change to MEA” box in the centre of each parcel row. The option is on the land details screen. This will provide you with a dialogue box where you must input a note to explain the reason for requesting the change to MEA. You must also click on the “Edit Map” button and draw out the area you have cleared on the map.
Map
Once you click on the “Edit Map” button, you will be brought to the map of that parcel. Click on “Draw” on the left of the page to make changes.
Select “Exclusion Area” from the dropdown menu.
Measurements
When you start to draw you will notice the area being measured out for you on the right of the page. Once you have drawn out the boundary around the area of scrub you have cleared you should click on the “Confirm” button.
Once you have clicked on the “Confirm” button you will see that the label box on the right of the page is pre-populated with the parcel number. The area drawn in this example is 0.15ha. You must write a note in the note box. In this case, “I have cleared out the scrub on Exclusion X02 on this parcel” would be an example. Click on “Save”.
The area you have cleared out will display in yellow. You should click on “Return to App” on the left of the page to return to the “Land Details” page.
Land Details
On the “Land Details” page, make sure to increase the claimed area of the parcel by the amount that you have cleared out, in this case 0.15ha. This will display as an over claim but once you are happy that you have marked out the correct area of scrub cleared you should proceed with your application.