With only two weeks left until the May 15 deadline for IACS/Single Application Form (SAF) submission, the Farmers’ Union of Wales is urging farmers to ensure forms are completed accurately and submitted on time as failure to do so could drastically reduce their payments not just in 2014 but also over the coming four years.
FUW president Emyr Jones said: “We’re still awaiting confirmation from Welsh Government of how payments will be calculated from 2015 onwards, but it seems highly likely that the Single Payment a farmer receives in December 2014 will be used as a reference for calculating the historical element of payment entitlements from 2015 to 2019.
“This means that a simple mistake - or worse still failure to submit the form this year - could not only lead to a loss of payment in 2014, but also a growing loss over the coming four years.”
The Welsh Government hopes to introduce transitional payment entitlement values based upon historical:flat rate ratios of 80:20, 60:40, 40:60 and 20:80 in the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Regulations, the historical baseline value of payment entitlements can be based on the Single Payment made to a farmer in 2014 and, if such a system is adopted, this means a fall in the payment received in 2014 would lead to lower payments in 2015-2019.
“This means that every €1,000 lost in 2014 due to errors or failure to submit the form could lead to a total further loss over the 2015 to 2019 period of up to €2,000, “ Mr Jones added.