Advanced Basic Payment Scheme and greening payments worth 50% of claims are to be issued from 16 October, DAERA confirmed this week.

The payments will be for claims that have been fully verified by the Department, with balance payments to be issued from 1 December.

This is the second year of advanced payments in NI. The move was expected given that 99.53% of Single Applications were submitted online this year.

EU rules limit advanced payments to a maximum of 50% of claim value from mid-October, but 70% advances were issued last year as part of the European Commission’s Exceptional Aid package in response to pressure on farm incomes across sectors.

The Commission has not indicated that 70% advanced payments will be repeated this year, but the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has said that it will press for the higher rate.

“This is something we will be pushing the European Commission for as cashflow is still an issue on many farms,” said UFU president Barclay Bell.

Exchange rates

Meanwhile, NI farmers could be in line for a further boost to support payments this year with sterling hitting a ten-month low against the euro on Tuesday at €1=£0.91.

Support payments are converted from euro to sterling based on the average exchange rate for the month of September.

Last year, a weakened sterling following the Brexit vote meant payments increased by 18% compared to 2015.

However, if the rate of €1=£0.91 holds throughout September, payments would increase by 6.6% year on year, equating to an £18m boost to the industry.