With just over two weeks to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) deadline on Monday 16 May, over 41,000 applications have been received – 36,104 of which were submitted online. Advisers report the online system to be working well.

The fine weather has seen farmers put off appointments as they work to catch up on spring work. This will put pressure on as the deadline approaches.

Young Farmer top-up

The terms and conditions for the 2016 Young Farmer top-up have been released.

This is a completely separate scheme with its own pot of €24m each year.

It pays a top-up of around €62/ha up to 50ha for each eligible entitlement (leased in or owned) the eligible young farmer holds.

The farmer must also have submitted an eligible hectare under the BPS online system as well.

It is a rotating fund paid to eligible young farmers in their first five years of setup. Successful farmers in 2015 just have to tick a box on their BPS application.

However, under the rules, successful farmers who started in 2010 and received payment last year are no longer eligible.

Young farmers also have to remain solely or jointly in control of the farm and not hit their 41st birthday in 2016.

New young farmers applying for the first time can have started farming since 2011. They have to go through a separate online application that has a closing date of 16 May. They must have started their education by that date.

There is some talk of courses being set up to facilitate this.

To add a young farmer to a herd number, an application must be made to the regional veterinary office as well as a transfer of entitlements submitted if there are entitlements associated with the herd number.

The final step is to have the young farmer on the bank account. Reading the terms and conditions and getting these done will reduce the delays seen in processing in 2015.

No decision has been made on a 2016 National Reserve. The timeline is getting very tight at this stage.

The final statement of entitlements, that sets out each person’s definite entitlement values over the next four years, look set to be pushed out until mid-May.

The Department has to complete all cases before this can be done. At this stage, there are less than 200 difficult cases to be teased through.

It is only when this happens that they can release the final 3% of basic payment held back until the process was completed.

Lease entitlement rise

Strong demand and a real shortage of entitlements to lease have pushed up the prices reported to be paid.

Lower-value entitlements less than €150 are now making 50% of their value, with values at €200 to €300/ ha making €60%.

The higher values over €400/ha are reported to be making close to 70% of the value and in some cases even more.

The 50% clawback on sale of entitlements without land is forcing people into the new option to lease without land in 2016.

With a tighter two-year use-it-or-lose-it rule, it is important that anyone with additional entitlements should use the demand to lease them out this year.

In most cases, the money being paid into the agents’ holding account where it stays until the application to lease has been approved by the Department.

The demand is coming from farmers who reduced land in 2015 to consolidate their own entitlements and have retaken land since.

Young farmers eligible for the top up also need entitlements for all the land they apply on to get paid.