Farmers in NI are set to receive Basic Payments worth 100% of claims in mid-October after a full intake of Single Applications were received by DAERA.

In total, 24,494 applications were submitted before last Friday’s deadline, which is 64 more than the same period last year.

The increased intake occurred despite coronavirus restrictions meaning no face-to-face meetings with form fillers or DAERA staff could take place this year.

“As a result of everyone’s efforts, we should be in a position to distribute full payments in October, a first for NI farmers and ahead of every part of the EU and UK,” DAERA Minister Edwin Poots said.

A department spokesperson confirmed that there will be no extension to the deadline without penalties applying, except in cases of force majeure.

For every day that an application is submitted late, a 1% penalty applies. Farmers can still amend applications without penalty until 9 June, which is a longer window than previous years.

Last year, 91 out of the 1,205 farmers that received a land eligibility inspection were fined

Over the last few weeks, DAERA staff responded to over 7,000 queries through webchats, emails, and telephone calls and 1,190 farmers completed their application over the department’s telephone advisory service.

However, some form fillers have urged DAERA to be lenient when assessing applications, given that it was more difficult to accurately amend maps or claimed areas without face-to-face meetings.

Last year, 91 out of the 1,205 farmers that received a land eligibility inspection were fined. It equates to a penalty rate of 7.5%, which is similar to the year before.

In total, land eligibility penalties during 2019 came to €43,805 and were applied across 182ha in NI. Again, it is in line with 2018 when penalties on 189ha totalled €42,582.

EFS higher

Meanwhile, the deadline for the fourth tranche of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) higher level was also last Friday and a record high number of applications were received.

In total, 966 farmers submitted applications, up from 932 applications in the third tranche of EFS higher level last year.

However, DAERA has already indicated that only between 200 and 300 farmers will be offered a scheme agreement in the fourth tranche.

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