Letters have been issued to 92% (16,915) of eligible Scottish BPS/Greening claimants, offering interest-free loans in the place of an entitlement this November. The deadline is 20 October for farmers to receive 90% of their entitlement in the first two weeks of November, to a maximum of €150,000.

Meanwhile, the exchange rate for converting European CAP monies to pounds has increased by approximately 5% since last year. This represents a boost of almost £19m for the rural economy. The 2017 BPS money is converted to sterling based on an average of the European Central Bank rates over the month of September. The 2017 exchange rate will be €1 = £0.89470. Around 16,400 farmers opt to take their payment in sterling rather than euro.

This follows on from an 18% increase to payments last year, due to the reduction in sterling’s value after the Brexit vote in June 2016.

The boost helps to offset (in sterling terms) falling entitlement values for farmers with Basic Payment entitlements worth more than the regional average.