| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| gardening-girl |
Single Payment Scheme.Could someone please explain in simple language what this is.Would we be eligable for this? Was talking to someone in town who seemed to think that as we have a smallholding of about 3acres we could apply.I haven,t got a clue what it is. |
| Cathryn |
Do you mean the single farm payment scheme? My partner thinks that you need to have been farming the land and claiming a subsidy under one of the schemes for the reference years (99 to 01 or 00 to 02?) and have a holding number. Check this under the Rural Payments Agency. We live in Wales and it might be different. |
| Cathryn |
http://www.rpa.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/UIMenu/FFFDD11D4803F7D580256F72003DD33D?Opendocument |
| gardening-girl |
Looks confusing, possibly not for us then.
Thanks for the link. |
| Cathryn |
There will be someone more informed along I'm sure. I think it is diferent in Wales. In England it was a flat rate payment but I think you still needed to be claiming in the particular years. However you can buy entitlements.
Wait for an English smallholder to pop in... 
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| RichardW |
Have they closed the "new entrants" route then?
Thats how we claimed, but have stopped now as we have less land & want less involvement. |
| Rob R |
You don't have to have to have been claiming in the reference years, as we weren't, but the SPS is made up of a historic payment (the bit you get based on the reference years) and a flat rate payment. The proportion based upon historic payments and the flat rate changes every year (ie a greater percentage is flat rate per hectare each year up to, I think, 2012, when we will be all getting 100% flat rate payments per hectare. It's designed to wean farmers of the higher rate production payments they were getting before.
Our SPS payment has therefore gone up year on year from 10% to something like 75% this year. It's not a lot, based on 37 acres, and I don't think we'd bother claiming if we had much less land, but it comes in useful each year to help with improvements in the yard or topping up the fencing fund. |
| RichardW |
In Wales new entrants went straight on to 100% area based. |
| Rob R |
Bah. |
| Mutton |
Moo surely? |
| Rob R |
 
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