Farmers should pay particular attention to a letter about to drop through their letterboxes, according to NFU Scotland policy director Jonnie Hall.
Addressing around 50 members of NFUS’s Angus branch he told them that the way they respond to the letter would determine their allocation and the value of their entitlements to the new Basic Payment Scheme.
With Scottish farmland divided into three payment regions of vastly different per-hectare values, it would be very important for every individual to check that their farm had been properly designated.
“Scottish Government initially wanted only two payment regions, but NFUS successfully argued for three and that is where we are now.
“There is no turning back now and, although it is imperfect for all, we have to make it work.
“The alternative is running the risk of not getting paid our 2015 BPS in December next year and having to wait until the spring,” Mr Hall warned.
The CAP budget was reduced and there would be around 9% less money to go around than farmers had become used to, but Mr Hall argued that the proposed allocation was as fair as it could be.
Region One, which would cover much of a county such as Angus, included arable land, temporary grass and temporary grass and had an estimated payment rate of 220 euros/hectare.
In Scottish terms Region One would consume 87% of the budget, meaning that the money by and large stayed in the most productive livestock, dairy and arable areas.
Region Two will cover the better areas of rough grazing (RGR) already classified as B, C or D in the existing Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS). It would attract a payment of 35 euros/ha and consume 9% of the national budget.
The remaining area would be in Region Three and would also be rough grazing, but of the much poorer quality classified as A under LFASS. The payment here would only be 10 euros/ha, and it would consume 4% of the budget.
Given the vast difference in per-hectare payments it was vital that producers checked the allocation on the soon-to-arrive letter, particularly as to whether land had been designated as permanent grass worth 210 euros per ha and rough grazing at only 35 euros or even 10 euros per ha.
“Be warned, though, that Scottish Government have checked many parcels already, and trying to change heather moorland into permanent grass just won’t work,” continued Mr Hall.
“Remember, too, that the payment rates I have given are not set exactly. The budget will simply be divided by the number of hectares claimed, and that won’t be known until the forms are in.
“Land that hasn’t been claimed on before will appear and, if there is too much of it, Region One payments will drop like a lead balloon,” he added.
This reinforced the need for only active farmers and actively farmed land to be included in the scheme.
A so-called negative list of ineligible land had been agreed and it would include estates where most of the income came from shooting, stalking or fishing.
The Scottish Government had estimated this would remove a possible 600,000ha of land, but Mr Hall posed a question about the treatment of grouse moors in the Lammermuirs and the Angus Glens which were managed for sport but nonetheless carried some of the best hill sheep flocks in the country.
It transpired that nobody at the meeting had received the all-important letter from the Scottish Government, although Mr Hall believed it had been distributed.
A spokesperson yesterday confirmed to The Courier that mailings were under way in phases and that everyone should have a letter by early next week at the latest.
* Angus Branch of NFU Scotland is on the face of it in good health, with 288 members.
The annual meeting in Forfar heard the membership increased by 18 over the year.
It seems strange, then, that when branch chairman David Mather asked for a nomination to replace him after three years at the helm he was met by deafening silence and a bit of embarrassed foot shuffling.
The same happened when he asked for nominations for the vacant post of vice-chairman.
After several attempts and appeals Mr Mather, who farms at Shandford, Brechin, had to reluctantly accept that he was in charge for another year without a
vice-chairman.
To make matters worse his current prolonged chairmanship is not his first tenure of the post.
It even proved difficult, but not impossible, to find three delegates willing to vote on behalf of the branch at the forthcoming national presidential elections.
The attendance at the annual meeting was strong enough at about 50, but the attraction was clearly the chance to hear Jonnie Hall’s view of how CAP reform would affect their businesses rather than any eagerness to step up to the plate.
Was it a case of apathy reigning supreme, or should there have been some more serious lobbying ahead of the annual meeting?