The Scottish Beef Association has rejected Scottish Government plans to split the country into only two land use classifications for the Single Farm Payment replacement scheme.
It has called for three classifications with the middle one, for permanent grassland, attracting the highest payment.
This is the so-called Olympic podium model.
SBA chairman Scott Henderson suggested many beef producers could lose as much as 50% of their current SFP if there is no change to the implementation plan.
“I am hearing some scary reports from SBA members who are set to lose up to 50% 200 euro a cow of their SFP in the new regime.
“There must be hundreds of beef farmers out there who have land in both the permanent grass and rough grazing classifications, and many could be impacted by this.
“These active farms are the backbone of the Scottish beef herd, and it is vital we get a handle on the number of farms affected so we can take this to the Scottish Government.
“I would strongly encourage any beef producer worried about what may be in store for them to contact the SBA through our web site. This will allow us to further build our case with the Scottish Government,” said Mr Henderson.
He also suggested that before completing the Government’s online consultation it was essential for farmers to use the Scottish Government’s ready reckoner to work out their new SFP.
He suggested that it could make a fundamental difference to individual responses.
Mr Henderson added: “The majority of producers have the same or very similar businesses to what they had in 2004, so their present SFP is still relevant today. On a similar budget should their payment not be similar?”
The SBA favours a three-region split, with payment rates of around 230 euros on arable and temporary grass, 287 euros on permanent grass, and 22 euros on rough grazing.
This compares with the two-region model proposed by the Scottish Government which indicated a payment of 224 euros per hectare for arable, temporary grass and permanent grass. The payment for rough grazing was indicated as being around 25.3 euros per hectare.
The SBA has demanded mechanisms to ensure producers with rough grazing receive “realistic payments” while avoiding the risk of giving ‘slipper farmers’ an operating platform.
As part of the reform they also want to see:
A siphon on all entitlement sales;
Cross-compliance measures only being used once the EU has verified any penalty matrix;
No retrospective penalties at either national or producer level;
All coupled payments to be made on a flat rate for animals of at least 75% beef genetics;
Full area payments being awarded to new entrants, not just young farmers;
No capping of support for larger farms;
Use of the ‘Irish Tunnel’ method to delay the move to full area-based payments for as long as possible.