According to figures from the Department of Agriculture, there are 3,000 to 4,000 farmers who remain ineligible for GLAS advance payments for a whole raft of reasons. This is a considerable drop on the 10,000 farmers who were ineligible 0n 7 December. However, payments to farmers remain slow with only 2,000 farmers receiving advance payments since 7 December to bring the total number of farmers paid to 38,000. This represents payments issuing to approximately 400 farmers a week.

GLAS pay-runs are continuing on a weekly basis, according to the Department, with more farmers expected to receive their 2017 advance payment this week.

Issues

Some of the issues holding up payments to farmers include the 660 nutrient management plans that are yet to be submitted in respect of GLAS I and II participants and the 880 commonage management plans that also have to be submitted.

The Department advises farmers to contact their adviser directly to have these submitted.

Other issues holding up payment include applicants who have yet to submit their low-emission slurry spreading forms or who submitted them incorrectly. Rare breed forms and the non-submission of a 2017 BPS application are other reasons.

BPS amendments

An issue that advisers believe is one of the key reasons why GLAS farmers are deemed ineligible for advance payments is that there are BPS amendments required to maps.

Advisers were reporting that there were cases where letters to farmers stated that boundaries in fields had moved, where in actual fact they have not. Other letters showed that parcels which had “not been set up in BPS with a valid crop code for this action” were the reason for ineligibility. Advisers are pointing towards a lack of communication between the BPS section of the Department and the GLAS section as an issue.

If a total of 38,000 farmers have been paid to date and a further 4,000 remain ineligible, this still leaves a considerable 7,700 farmers who are eligible but have not yet received 2017 advance payments, which represent 85% of the GLAS payment.

Clarification is being sought from the Department as to why these payments are yet to be issued.