Just under half of farmers still to submit BP5 form
©Tim Scrivener Just under half of farmers have still to submit their completed Basic Payment Scheme form in England, according to latest figures from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).
The RPA has now received 44,800 out of the 86,000 forms it is expecting, but there are only two weeks left before the 15 June deadline.
The NFU this week urged farmers who have yet to submit their form to hand-deliver it to a drop-in centre to make sure they get a receipt at the same time.
See also: Farmers advised to hand-deliver their BP5 form to the RPA
However, the agency claims farmers still have time to post their application if they want to because it is going to reduce the number of days – from 10 down to five – it takes to issue a receipt.
However, it says if farmers want to use one of the 50 drop-in centres the locations and opening times can be found at www.gov.uk (search for RPA drop-in centres).
This week RPA mobile support units are also visiting a range of locations including:
- 2-4 June NFU Office, South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex (9am to 4pm)
- 4 June NFU Mutual, Wormbridge Court, Wormbridge, Herefordshire (9.30am to 4pm)
- 4 June Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services, Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham (9am to 12pm)
- 3 June Ward & Chowen, Tavistock Livestock Centre, Tavistock, Devon (9am to 5pm)
- 4 June Northallerton Auctions, Applegarth Mart, Northallerton, North Yorkshire (10am to 5pm)
- 5 June Thame Farmers Auction Mart, The Cattle Market, Thame, Oxfordshire (8am to 4pm)
In addition, anyone attending the North Sheep event in Cumbria on 3 June, or the Royal Cornwall Show from 4-6 June, can visit the RPA stand to hand in their BPS application or register on the rural payments system.
The RPA will also be at the Cereals show in Lincolnshire, from 10-11 June, together with Natural England representatives who will be on hand to answer questions about environmental stewardship agreements and the new Countryside Stewardship scheme.