DARD has added to the questions and answers on CAP reform on its website (www.dardni.gov.uk) for farmers and landowners. It is revision nine of the document and now includes answers to 135 questions over 67 pages of text.

The main additions relate to the new Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payment which will replace the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance (LFACA) and be paid on Severely Disadvantaged Area land in 2016 and 2017. It will be ‘‘reviewed’’ thereafter.

There is also the one-year transition payment for Disadvantaged Areas to be paid in 2016.

Greening

The other significant additions relate to greening requirements, particularly for larger arable growers. It is an area of concern raised by the Ulster Farmers Union this week, with president Ian Marshall maintaining that there is a “startling lack of detail” on what will be required to qualify for the greening payment.

What is clear is that there will be significant bureaucracy around greening for those with more than 30ha of arable land.

They must grow at least three crops (no one crop more than 75% of the area) and have at least 5% of the land as an Ecological Focus Area (EFA). Fallow land, hedges, ditches and stone walls on or adjacent to arable land all count towards the EFA. All of the land declared on the SAF in 2015 is subject to greening, even if it belongs to someone else.

The other major problem for many growers is getting access to land in 2015, particularly where an active farmer lets out some of his fields each year to a grower. If this happens in 2015, it will be the grower who must establish entitlements on that land, not the farmer owner.

One option suggested by DARD is that the grower transfers the entitlement back to the farmer in 2016 (this only works where a farmer is active).

The value of this entitlement, and the farm payment foregone by the farmer in 2015, can be reflected in the rent agreement.

Farmers For Action (FFA) has highlighted concerns that young farmers who have been part of a farming partnership (e.g. a father-son partnership where both are named in the business) for more than five years could miss out on the 25% top-up to direct payments proposed under a young farmers’ scheme.

This is in addition to the group who are to be excluded because they have been ‘‘head of holding’’ for more than five years.

FFA’s William Taylor is fearful that a large percentage of young farmers in NI could miss out on the top-up, which he said would be a “complete injustice”. A case has been put to Brussels, although clarity is not expected until this autumn

Those young farmers who should be eligible for the top-up (because they are taking over as head of holding or have done so in the last five years) must have a Level II qualification in agriculture. A list of eligible qualifications is available on the CAFRE website. Where a young farmer does not have the required qualification, courses are to be run by CAFRE this winter, delivered in two phases either side of Christmas.

After an initial suggestion that someone attending these courses should have a minimum standard of numeracy and literacy, it now seems that there will be no formal entry requirements. However, the advice from DARD is as follows: ‘‘Without a reasonable standard of literacy and numeracy, it could be difficult to benefit from the course and obtain the qualification. If you feel you do not have the necessary skills in literacy and numeracy, you could acquire these by attending a short literacy or numeracy course at a local Further Education College.’’

Finishers want cattle residency information

With autumn sales on the horizon, a number of beef finishers have contacted the Irish Farmers Journal in the past week saying that they want local marts to start providing information on cattle residencies at the point of sale.

One said: “I am entitled to know information on the history of an animal, especially if I am expected to pay £1,000 for a store. It is like buying an expensive car without any service history otherwise,” he maintained.

Those who buy cattle with more than four residencies are left with little option but to take the animal back to the mart. According to one finisher, there is currently a one in six likelihood of buying an animal with more than four residencies. Penalties are generally around £80.

Last week, UFU president Ian Marshall made his position clear on farm residencies, stating that this information must be made available to ensure that farmers, who are both buyers and sellers, are not disadvantaged in the marketplace. “Undoubtedly, there is a need to move forward discussions around all of these matters as it is creating a significant distraction from farm profitability, which is the primary concern,” he said.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that a couple of smaller marts now allow sellers to announce the number of farm residencies at the point of sale. There are also reports that a major mart in the west is likely to agree to provide the information to buyers, starting later this month. However, other major marts remain resolute that this information should not be made available.

Meanwhile, the various farming and meat plant organisations asked to sign up to a protocol drawn up by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) as they try to broker a solution to the impasse over cattle residencies have been given an extra couple of weeks to consider their position. They were originally asked to respond to the LMC by 1 August 2014.