The Department of Agriculture has issued letters to over 8,000 farmers warning them that artificial land features on their farms may not yet have been excluded from their payment maps.

Surface features that are ineligible for area-based payments include roadways, houses and concreted yard areas.

However, the Department said that it has only issued generic letters to farmers and has not provided details on which areas it thinks may have been flagged as an artificial surface to each individual farmer.

Head of direct payments, David Buckley, said receiving a letter will not necessarily mean that there is a feature that must be redlined, but he urged those who have got letters to check.

Those applying for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme must exclude ineligible areas from maps, even if they reduce the area on which they are claiming payment, for example only claiming 9ha on a 10ha parcel.

Farmers or their advisers can redline these areas on maps before making BISS applications to help prevent complications arising during eligibility checks.

Farmers should contact their adviser to let them know that they have received a Department letter flagging the issue, rather than assuming their adviser will know to check maps over the coming weeks.