European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has granted a one-month extension to the Single Application Form (SAF) window.
Thursday’s move, which follows calls from farming bodies across Europe, will give member states the option to extend the deadline to June 15, from May 15.
In a statement, Commissioner Hogan said: “I have proposed to allow member states to extend the deadline so that farmers do not suffer the consequences of delays on the part of administrations which are faced with the challenge of the first year of implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy.
“Member states can now take up this option, which should also help avoid penalties for late applications from recipients.”
He added that the extension was voluntary and would only apply this year.
NFU Scotland urged the Scottish Government to opt for an extended SAF deadline to allow farmers and advisers more time to complete this year’s SAF.
Earlier this week a war of words erupted between the two over the Government’s online SAF on the Rural Payments and Services website.
NFU Scotland president Allan Bowie said farmers had found the system “difficult and hugely frustrating”; however, the Government said it was “premature to draw conclusions about what the farming public thinks” because very few people had begun filling out the SAF, which opened for applications on Monday.
Following the latest development Mr Bowie said: “Commissioner Hogan’s decision to give member states the flexibility to extend the deadline for the completion of the Single Application Form is welcome.
“We ask the Scottish Government to use this extension in Scotland as it will allow farmers and farm advisers more time to complete this year’s vital SAF applications.
“We will be discussing this issue with Scottish Government officials when we meet with them tomorrow.”
Later in the day a Scottish Government spokeswoman laid out the current thinking: “We have long argued that the Commission should be realistic in year one of the new CAP, and so in principle the Commissioner’s signal of potential flexibility is welcome.
“We will need to discuss with stakeholders the possible options, and their consequences, before deciding how to proceed in Scotland.
“Apart from the obvious potential delay to the processing of payments later in the year, we need to understand whether the Commission is prepared to show equal flexibility on, for example, the timescale for on-the-spot inspections without which there could be an increased risk of financial penalties from Europe.
“We will also need to consider any impact on the Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme, since change to the SAF window could reintroduce a major overlap in the two application periods, which our decision last week to move the AECS window was designed to avoid.”
Meanwhile Stirling-based United Auctions has confirmed that it is to pull out of the grass lets business.
Traditionally the company has let grass parks by auction, but the possible problems associated with the new CAP have forced a rethink. A United Auctions spokesman said on Thursday: “Owing to the complexity of the current situation we are not letting grass this year.”
*Although Scotland remains committed to online applications for the new Basic Payment Scheme, farmers and agents in England have been offered the use of paper-based forms.
The move comes after weeks of speculation over the reliability of the Rural Payments Agency’s online application system
The RPA has admitted that, while the core and registration parts of the Rural Payments system are working well, there have been performance problems with the online interface that farmers and agents use.
The RPA is now offering farmers and their agents the use of established forms and processes to complete their claims by the deadline.
The RPA will then input this data on to the system.
The RPA has ensured it has the resources it needs to undertake this work on time, and that it will be able to make payments to farmers from this December.
Apart from registering, English farmers will not be asked to enter any further data online now.
Data that has already been entered on to the system has apparently been saved and will be used.
RPA chief executive, Mark Grimshaw said: “My priority is to ensure that every farmer and agent has the help they need to make their claims on time.
“Using tried-and-tested RPA forms will make this happen. Having listened to feedback, the RPA will now combine existing forms that farming businesses are used to, with data that the Rural Payments system already has.
“This will mean that everyone who is registered and wants to complete a 2015 Basic Payment Scheme claim can do so.”
The RPA has started to email all farmers and agents who have already registered on the Rural Payments website to provide further detail on completing and submitting claims.
Also, all agents will have received maps of their clients’ land from the RPA by the end of next week.
Those dealing with the most complex cases will be offered additional support.
The RPA is also working to give them direct access to the system.
Mark Grimshaw also said: “We welcome today’s announcement by Commissioner Hogan to offer an extension of the deadline for BPS claims to June 15.”
The Scottish Government is believed to have more than 20,000 Single Application Forms sitting in a warehouse in central Scotland awaiting distribution if the computer system looks unlikely to cope but, to date, it is business as usual with online applications to be used wherever possible.