The €4bn Rural Development Programme (RDP) has received broad welcome from the farming sector. While the vast majority of the detail has yet to be thrashed out, the Irish Farmers Journal examines two case studies and how the RDP will affect their overall payments.
Farmer Case Studies:
Farmer A is a suckler farmer with 40 suckler cows and 100 ewes on severely disadvantaged land. He farms 30 hectares, is a recipient of the sheep grassland scheme and has an SFP of €400/ha.
He exited REPS in 2013 and thus has no agri-environmental scheme for 2014.
In 2015, the farmer will be eligible for the GLAS payment. His sheep grassland scheme will be rolled into Single Farm Payment (SFP). His SFP, however, will be subject to a 3% cut for the national reserve and a further 2% for the young farmers’ top-up. With convergence, his per hectare payment will drop to €374/ha.
He will be eligible for the same payments under the disadvantaged area scheme and the area of natural constraint (ANC).
Commonage
Farmer B has 60 hectares, 20 of which is lowland with 40 hectares on commonage land. He has 100 ewes. His disadvantaged area payment for 2014 is €3,400 and he is a recipient of €10,780 through REPS 4.
His SFP is €8,000 at €134/ha and he has a sheep grassland payment of €1,150.
In 2015, there will be no change to disadvantaged area payment/ANC.
His circumstances mean he will most likely receive the maximum payment under GLAS (€5,000) and his sheep grassland payment will be rolled into the SFP from 2015.
With convergence, his average per hectare payment will rise to €146/ha. However, he will also get national reserve and young farmer deductions.
SHARING OPTIONS