CAP Roadshow comes to Shropshire
Farmers and landowners can find out how the Common Agricultural Policy reform will affect their businesses at the CLA Midlands CAP Reform Roadshow at the The Lord Hill Hotel, Shrewsbury on Tuesday, September 30.
The CLA is joined by Berrys and CLA Foreign Exchange to provide an update on the latest developments of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) which replaces the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in January, 2015. The seminar will cover the latest information on crop diversification, ecological focus area and how to make a claim.
"The aim is to answer questions on this important issue so farmers can make the necessary decisions for their farming business," said Berrys' associate Sarah Reece who will be speaking at the event.
"All English BPS applications will need to be submitted and managed on line using the new CAP Information Service (CAPIS) via the Government's gov.uk website and we will be explaining how to register," she said. Fixed CLA Foreign Exchange will also detail how the exchange rate can be fixed in advance to help farmers budget for next year.
"This is a time of massive change for the agricultural industry and we are delighted to be involved in this important roadshow to speak on a one-to-one basis with farmers to explain how the new system will work," said Sarah.
"Although the new CAP regime doesn't come in until 2015 the rules are already affecting farming decisions particularly with regard to crops planted this autumn to comply with the compulsory greening element.
"To prepare for the introduction of BPS, Berrys has designed a greening calculator that will enable us to calculate the crop diversification and ecological focus area requirements for a farm and assess any exemptions and the impact of agri-environment schemes that are relevant to the land," she explained.
In the meantime, farmers should consider whether they need to make any entitlement transfers to ensure they can maximise their BPS claim when the SPS entitlements roll forward into BPS entitlements on January 1, 2015.
"The deadline for submission of SPS entitlement transfer forms is midnight October 21, 2014 so make sure you submit your form as soon as possible as there is likely to be a back log nearer the cut-off date," Sarah added. For advice on CAP reform, entitlement transfers or for more information on the CAP roadshow contact Sarah Reece at Berrys on 01743 271697 or email sarah.reece@berrybros.com
The roadshow is free of charge but pre-registration is essential for catering purposes so please contact CLA Midlands on 01785 337010
