Direct payments to farmers began to issue from Monday 1 September, with DAERA confirming that just over £242.4m was paid out to 98% of eligible farm businesses on the first day.

It is the fourth year in a row that DAERA has been able to use post-Brexit freedom to release direct payments to farmers from early September. Prior to that, direct payments were issued from mid-October.

There is a name change this year, with the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) that existed since 2015, now replaced with a new Farm Sustainability Transition Payment (FSTP) ahead of the full rollout of the new Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) scheme in 2026. This payment scheme is a key part of DAERA’s new £329.4m Sustainable Agriculture Programme.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite all the terminology and name changes, the budget of around £293m to fund direct payments to NI farmers has remained largely the same in recent years. However, farmers will note that their actual September payment is down again this year.

In 2024, a total of 9% was taken off all payments to mainly fund the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme, while in 2025, there has been a further 6.5% deduction made to primarily fund a new suckler cow scheme which launched from 1 April 2025. It effectively means that September payments in 2025 are down by around 15.5% when compared to the likes of 2022.

Commitment

Commenting on another year when DAERA has successfully made early payments to farmers, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir said it underscores his commitment to supporting farmers and a more sustainable agriculture sector. He also pointed out that NI is the only region of the UK where funding for farming, the environment, fisheries and rural development is ring-fenced. “I am proud to have secured that certainty for the farming sector,” he said.

Digital

Meanwhile, DAERA has also reminded farm businesses to check their contact and bank details are up to date.

Notification of payments to farmers are mostly now made via the DAERA messaging service, with a prompt sent via email when a new message is available to view online.

Paper letters are still issued to farm businesses where an agent submitted the application. However, the department has urged all farmers to ensure they have an online account as more communications will come digitally in the future.