[Stereo]

Hi all, I'm new around here. I will hopefully be aquiring around 44 acres of land in the south west later in 2012. It's about 38 acres of pasture and 6 of wood / scrub. There are no buildings as yet but all fields have either a stream or mains water. Our intention is to do a bit of livestock, coppicing and growing on it which will hopefully mostly feed us and also provide firewood. I grew up on a beef and dairy farm so have a good understanding of what's involved.

The one thing I am confused about is the SFP situation. The current owner lets the grass out on a license to another farmer who grazes sheep on it and I think he also claims the SFP.

Does anyone have any understanding of how this all works, what we need to do to get the payment, when we would apply, when we would get it etc. Does the entitlement stay with the land or does it belong to the farmer who is renting it?

Sorry if this is a silly question but we have read loads on the net about it and are none the wiser to be honest.

[robert waddell]

if as you suspect that the farmer that is grazing the fields is claiming the SFP   you will get nothing         you will have to buy entitlement    but you will have to work out if it is going to be worth it  to you     what you will get back as opposed to what it will cost       bare in mind the payment system is going to change in a few years        when you buy it it will clearly state if it is sold with entitlements attached

[henchard]

As for the new scheme it is likely that claimants who have claimed Single Farm Payment (SFP) in 2011 will have, what is commonly being referred to as the “Golden Ticket”, which allows them to apply for an allocation of Entitlement under the proposed new SFP due to be implemented in 2014 or 2015. .
The current scheme as we know it along with all existing entitlement are to be extinguished.
From Jan 2014 (2015) a new multilayered payment will be introduced. Made up as follows:-
 

• Basic Payment
• Greening
• Young Farmer Scheme
• Small Farmer Scheme
• Areas of specific national restraints

[Stereo]

Thanks. The current owner has indicated that he used to claim but now the guy leasing it claims instead. Does that mean there may be entitlements on the land?  But the other guy is claiming using his own entitlement?  Is that possible?


As to the new system, will we be able to lodge a fresh claim for entitlement at that time?