The 2017 online Single Application Form (SAF) to apply for area-based schemes has been made available for completion by DAERA from 1 March 2017, with the deadline for receipt of claims of 15 May 2017.

The major drive this year is to get as many forms as possible submitted online ahead of an EU requirement in 2018 that all SAF forms must be completed online, where possible.

It means that DAERA will not be posting out paper forms and has written to those who submitted paper forms in 2016 (understood to be around 9,800 claimants) providing information on how to obtain a Government gateway account (access to DAERA online services). An applicant can still insist that they complete a paper form, although DAERA’s preference is very much that the online SAF is used.

Anyone requiring assistance with the online form can call the SAF Advisory Service on 0300 200 7848. It is also possible to nominate someone to complete the form on your behalf, or make an appointment to go to a DAERA Direct Office where an adviser can guide the applicant through the process.

Rules

As in previous years, various rules apply. A claim must involve at least three entitlements (3ha). Farm businesses that submit claims should be able to demonstrate clear separation from another business.

Farmers should include all the land they are farming on the SAF, even if they don’t have entitlements for all of the land – it is this total land area that will be used for the calculation of manure nitrogen loading as part of rules around nitrates – this information will be passed to the NI Environment Agency.

For any land submitted on the form, a farmer must be in control of the agricultural activity on that land for the majority of the year.

A landowner who has decided to stop farming in 2017 should lease or sell their entitlements. Entitlements not claimed for two years will be lost.

With the Basic Payment Scheme and greening payment only currently guaranteed for three years (2017 to 2019), entitlements for sale are trading around half of the value they will accumulate over the three-year period.

Yellow card

It is also the responsibility of the claimant to ensure that all the land they claim is eligible for the entire calendar year. A new ‘‘yellow card’’ system was introduced in 2016, which meant that some farmers who were deemed by DAERA to have over-declared their eligible land area were given reduced penalties (difference between area declared and area determined was less than 10%). However, if an applicant over-declares two years in a row, the full penalty will be imposed for both years.

DAERA can also conduct preliminary checks on the SAF (issues such as fields claimed in duplicate, or field areas claimed greater than the maximum eligible area), with the claimant notified by 10 June, and given to 20 June 2017 to make corrections. However, in its guidance notes, the Department points out that preliminary checks are optional, and will only be undertaken if resources allow.

The Young Farmers Scheme top-up, and regional reserve for new entrants, will operate again in 2017 as in previous years.