Farmers urged to complete Single Payment claim forms NOW

Don’t leave it until the 11th hour, says John Dawe-Lane of Stags.

FARMERS across The Midweek Herald’s patch are being urged to fill out their Single Payment claim forms now - and not to leave it until the 11th hour.

The deadline for completing the forms is Monday, May 16.

John Dawe-Lane, of Stags, says early attention to the SP5 forms should avoid any potential last minute pitfalls.”

“One thing to watch out for is mapping errors, which often result in delayed processing of the claim by the RPA and, consequently, late payment to the farmer,” he said.

“Following the Rural Land Register update, most maps should now be correct. However, there are still instances that we come across where this is not the case.”

Mr Dawe-Lane is advising farmers and landowners to ensure any outstanding mapping changes are made at the earliest opportunity, so that new field numbers and area data are made available to the Rural Payment Agency - to avoid delays in processing claims and payment.

He added: “It should be remembered that the onus is on the farmer and not the RPA to ensure maps are correct.”