2021 Basic Payment Scheme

2021 is the first year in which applicants will receive a reduced Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payment as part of a managed transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy. Agricultural Surveyor George Whittaker outlines the changes to this year's application process

Following the UK’s departure from the European Union last year, DEFRA announced their intention to phase out direct farm support payments in England over a 7-year period. 2021 is the first year in which applicants will receive a reduced Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payment as part of a managed transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy.

The 2021 BPS application window is set to open Thursday 18th March 2021 with a deadline for submitting applications of midnight Monday 17th May 2021.

There are changes in the BPS rules for 2021, some of the main changes are:

• No Greening - From the 2021 scheme year, all 3 greening requirements are removed, those being -

o   Crop Diversification Rules (“3 crop rule”)        

o   Ecological Focus Areas (“EFAs”)

o   Greening permanent grassland rules.

Please note - You will still need to declare ‘land use’ (cropping and ineligible features) on your application but you won’t need to meet any greening scheme rules.

• No Entitlement “2-year” Rule - You won’t need to use entitlements once every 2 years to avoid losing them (this does not apply retrospectively).
• Deadline for Supporting Evidence and Amendments - You will now be able to amend your BPS application and submit supporting documents until 11 June 2021 without incurring reductions or penalties.

Other changes in cross-border claims, force-majeure circumstance rules, and inspections & penalties will also be implemented.

Before submitting your 2021 BPS application, check the following –

• That “land use” is declared correctly including any non-agricultural area
• That permanent ineligible features and permanent boundaries are mapped correctly
• That hedges included in countryside or environmental stewardship are mapped correctly
• That the correct land use codes are applied to areas in countryside stewardship
• That all parcels are present
• That you are not applying for payment on more land than is eligible

Finally, check that your 2020 BPS payment was correct!

As a firm, we successfully applied for a large number of Countryside Stewardship (CSS) grants last year and have already received a high number of enquiries about applications for 2021.  Our specialist team of agents across the region  can assist with the applications for all rural grants and subsidies.  Contact George on 01305 236578 or contact the team in your nearest office for advice.