[cambee]

Help! Someone told us we may be able to claim a rural payment (England) as we graze sheep over 18 acres so I registered and I’ve been sent a form to fill in. Thick as this will sound it asks me to list the land we have by plots by reference to map sheet references and grid numbers and I haven’t a clue what to do. I’d just assumed you send in a copy of your land registry map. Could anyone please explain in ‘simples’ terms what to do? Also, I don’t know if this relevant but we did subdivide by fencing a couple of the big fields in half to give more rotation and to be able to separate ewes from rams etc. It’s not the end of the world if we don’t get this. Is it worth the hassle? Thanks

[henchard]

Not sure in England (I'm in Wales) but don't you generally need to have (or purchase) entitlements first to be able to claim?

Entitlements are generally traded in the marketplace and their value goes up and down (Brexit being the 'elephant in the room').
I think there may be some special rules for 'new entrants' under the age of 40.
Maybe join one of the organisations like the NFU and then use their expertise?

[Zyg]

From my own recent experience, when you apply for your CPH (Holding Number), you have to supply the list of field numbers with the OS map reference for each field.
If you don't have a CPH number, you won't be able to apply for the BRP.
The deadline for applications is 15th May so you need to hurry!
Rural Payments Wales made a bit of a mess of my CPH application - they left out 5 fields and were taking ages to sort it out (including losing my land registry documents (copies thereof)!!!). I discovered that there was a Farm Liaison Officer and within half a day of speaking to her, the fields were officially added to my holding.
The fields have a two part reference.... Sheet ref: SN4717 and field number: 3179

[Zyg]

... and I'm meeting the farm liaison officer on Tuesday for help with what I can claim and filling in the application.

[Penninehillbilly]

Much easier to work through an agent.
I don't remember CPH application mentioning about field nmbrs, I think it was about address etc, I presume you have a CPH.

You need entitlements, we had to buy some. Again best through an agent.

I think you need an SBI number (single business Identifer), but maybe that was to do with the tree planting someone did on our land.
Yes, I found out very recently, subdividing our fields made things more complicated,  namely because they added up to more than our original agent came up with, we have been missing out on about £150 A year ?.
I think way too complicated for a first timer, if you get it wrong you could be in bother if they check.
An agent can also best advise on stewardship grants.
Map grid number just refer to normal OS map references, should be easy to find.

[SallyintNorth]

I would agree you need to use an agent, particularly as you will need to buy entitlements, so you need to be confident about the revenue you will be getting so you don’t pay too much for the entitlements.

It is likely that the whole payment scheme will die the death once we Brexit (if we Brexit), in which case you might think the entitlements are only worth what you would get for one year.  And out of that, you will need to pay the agent...

However, if you think we will end up not Brexiting, then buying the entitlements now could be a wise investment.

[cambee]

Ok now I am totally confused! We do have a CPH but were never asked for maps. What does ‘buy entitlement’ mean. I was under the impression that any payments or grants were for certain kinds of farming but buying entitlements sounds almost like you are paying them to pay you. As I understand it, for 18 acres we wouldn’t gain much anyway so sounds way too expensive to bother. Think I’ll do a bit more research so I’m less ignorant. Thanks for the replies though.

[mab]

Not sure if it's the same where you are but here in Wales there's a 'national reserve' of entitlements that you can apply for  if you're a 'new entrant' (i.e. it's your first time making a claim within 5 yrs), or as a 'young farmer' if you're under 40. If your application's successful they give you entitlements to match your eligible land. When I did it it was part of the forms where it asks: it you're a new entrant or young farmer do you want to claim entitlements from the reserve.
When I did this for the 1st time I was also a bit at a loss as to how to work out what my fields were so I phoned and asked it there was help - and they made an appointment for me to go to their offices and sit down with a chap and identify my fields on his computer and do the forms there and then  .

Probably is worth trying - might be a bit late for this year unless you can really get your skates on - as it's a fair amount of money.

[Penninehillbilly]

As Sally says, it's a bit of a gamble re Brexit,
Entitlements are strange, at the beginning you applied for entitlements for eligible land for free, we didn't bother, didn't think it was worth the paperwork, regretted it later when we bought more land and found out how much we had missed out on, including over 4 hectares that tenant sneakily got his name on,.  So bought entitlements for new land, and the money received that year more than paid for entitlements. I believe they say it will carry on for another couple of years whatever happens.

[SallyintNorth]

When the Brexit malarkey started, all sides promised that the Single Farm Payment would continue as is until 2020.   Tick.  Tock.