Reminder as deadline nears for SAF forms

Crofters and farmers are being urged to prioritise filling out their 2018 Single Application Forms (SAF) forms before the May 15 deadline.

The clear majority of applications are now made online and while the Scottish Government has confirmed that, when compared to the same date in 2017, online SAF submissions already received are approaching 10,000, a further 7,000-8,000 forms have still to be submitted in the coming days.

NFU Scotland has warned that there is no likelihood of Europe granting an extension to the application period this year so midnight on May 15 is the deadline.

Jonnie Hall, NFU Scotland’s director of policy, said: “With a week to go, it seems that the IT system is coping well with the current volume of applications, but a busy seven days lies ahead.

“More than half the expected number of applications have already been successfully submitted, and many more are already on the system in draft.

“I appreciate that farmers and crofters are stretched right now and playing catch-up because of the poor spring weather.

“However, for the vast majority of farm businesses, completing SAF can be the most important days’ work in the year.

“I would urge anyone, whether aiming to complete their own SAF online or filling out the paper version, to prioritise this important task in the next few days.”

Farmers have also been reminded of the need to include Environmental Focus Areas maps with their SAF applications.