Sheep farmers given another six weeks to apply for support

Sheep farmers in some of the most difficult areas of Scotland who have been experiencing a very wet summer have been given a six-week extension to the deadline for applying to the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme.

Announcing the extension to the new date of 30 November, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said he was conscious of the poor weather conditions that had hampered farmers’ ability to gather flocks off the hills and draw their future breeding stock.

“I have decided to extend the application window for applying to the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme until the 30 November. Despite this extension, I would urge all farmers who wish to do so to submit their applications online as soon as possible and not wait until the last moment.”

He added, “Our sheep sector contributes more than £200 million a year to the rural economy, so it is only right that we offer them as much support and flexibility as possible within the confines of EU legislation.”

The proposed extension makes the application period from 1 September to 30 November 2017 but the retention period remains 17 October 2017 to 31 March 2018.

NFU Scotland Vice President Martin Kennedy, who chairs the Union’s Less Favoured Areas committee welcomed the announcement.

“Faced with the fifth wettest summer on record, hill farmers remain significantly behind in their workload, which would have made submitting an accurate application to the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme ahead of the 16 October deadline extremely challenging for some.”