Support payouts in two parts

Scottish farmers will receive this year’s farm support payment in two part s – and while around a quarter of producers will get their first instalment before the end of the year, the majority will be paid in January with some having to wait until March.

Updating the industry on the payment timetable last night, Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead said that producers would receive around 70% of their due in their first instalment, with the balance likely to be paid by April.

He also revealed that farmers would receive a letter outlining the likely level of their payments next month, a move which would help producers make arrangements with their banks.

Claiming that his officials had been working “extraordinarily hard” to get to this point, he said they would continue to work flat-out to ensure as much was paid out as soon as possible. “There can be no doubt the three payment regions and coupled support schemes requested by industry–as well as the move to areabased payments required by Europe – have greatly added to our enormous administrative challenge but the message I always got was that this is a price worth paying to deliver a better policy for Scotland ,” said Mr Lochhead.

NFU Scotland, which had been calling on the Scottish Government to “come clean” on the payments timetable, last night said that the announcement was “some distance away” from what its members considered acceptable. Union chief executive Scott Walker said that given the severe pressures farming businesses were facing, many were depending upon their payments.

“Added to our enormous administrative challenge”