RPA warns it will cut payments if map requests are not met by Dec 19

Five thousand farmers have just days left to respond to a letter from the Rural Payments Agency requesting extra mapping information.

The agency has said if farmers do not get the information to it by 19 December then it is likely the fields in question will be removed from the farmer’s claims.

The RPA wrote to 8000 farmers in November asking for maps of certain fields within seven days.

The letter told farmers that the agency had identified land parcels on their single farm payment claim which did not appear on the Rural Land Register and were not part of a separate IACS 22 application.

“The requested information must be provided to RPA by 19 December if RPA is to capture land data on the Rural Land Register in time to support 2005 SPS claims,” said a statement issued this week.

“Without such data it is likely that the fields in question will be removed from the farmers’ claims and they will not get paid on this portion of their land.
 
“It is important for all applicants that the information is accurate as entitlement values are established on the basis of the total number of hectares claimed by all farmers in England.”
 
Farmers have been asked to direct any queries to the contact number included on their individual letter.

RPA says farmers should reply with the best maps that they have available, ideally Ordnance Survey 1:5,000 maps with the field numbers included.

However sketch maps are acceptable as long as they clearly identify features on the ground that we can use to identify the location of the land parcels.

Photocopies of maps will be accepted, however farmers should respect copyright rules.