Over 100,000 farmers should start to receive the 70% advance Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) into their bank accounts from next Tuesday. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2015 BPS and the greening payment worth over €620m.

This is a significant increase (€140m) in the value of advance payments made to farmers in the first week compared with 2014. The main reason is the ability to pay 70% rather than the 50% advance normally paid.

The payments mean that farmers have now been allocated the number and value of entitlements under the new BPS. They are based on the number of eligible hectares declared by the farmer in 2013 and 2015, whichever is lower.

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The model, while initially retaining the link with payments under the Single Payment Scheme, gradually moves all farmers towards a national average value over the five years of the new scheme, but does not arrive at a flat rate by 2019.

Farmers would have got an indication of the values in a provisional statement earlier in the year. They can now check their actual values against them. For farmers using agfood.ie, they should be online to view on Monday.

Despite the fact the BPS and greening payments are separate measures, the Department has decided to combine the payments as one for transfer to the bank account of individual farmers in order to simplify the process and maximise the economic impact.

The Minister indicated that advance payments will continue to issue regularly up until late November as individual cases are cleared. Balancing payments will issue from 1 December.

Under the new system there will be minor alterations to the unit value of entitlements allocated, as the cases of other farmers are processed. The Department will retain 3% of payments until spring 2016. This amount will be paid at that stage when entitlements are definitively allocated.

ANC up to €155m

Payments to farmers under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme continue to issue as cases are confirmed for payment. An additional 4,000 farmers were paid in the last week, bringing them close to where they were the same week last year.

Under the ANC, over €155m has now been issued to nearly 74,000 farmers since payments commenced on 23 September. The September stocking figures are due to be included, which will increase the number who meet the stocking density criteria and are eligible for payment.

Young farmers and National Reserve

Young Farmers Scheme, National Reserve and Scottish Derogation applicants will not get an advance payment this week.

The applications continue to be processed and the aim is to pay full payments in December this year.

The Department has written to farmers who have applied on rented or leased land.

They must send in the rental or lease agreement to verify that they have control of the land this year.

The Department will also crosscheck with the cattle database and ask arable farmers to supply verification that they owned the crops being grown.

The coupled Protein Aid, which was increased to €280/ha recently, will be paid in December 2015.