Monday, 25 November 2019

Basic Payment Scheme 2020
   We are near the end of 2019 with the DAFM making payments for the BPS Scheme with the next round of payments starting in the first week of December.
For all who use donkeys passports to claim the ANC payments for 2019 and previous years there is a change coming in 2020 as stated in the DAFM  BPS terms and conditions for 2019.
The big change will be that if you use only donkey passports in the past you can only use them to account for 50% of the land area from 2020 onwards. For example if your minimum stocking rate of 0.15LU per hectare which is the equivalent to 4 donkeys from 2020 on wards you can only us 2 donkey and 2 other LU's from cattle and or sheep. You can also use breeding ponies provided that a mare had a foal in 2019.
Now is the time to plan for 2020 in regard to eligibility for the ANC payment. If your herd number for cattle and or sheep is dormant you may have to fill a form to reactivate it. Remember as per the above example of needing to replace 2 LU with either bovines or ovines which is equivalent to 2 cows, 3.33 cattle under 2 or 14 ewes/hoggets. These numbers are for the full year and if you plan to follow having cattle for only seven months only then you will have to carry more so that the minimum for the year is 0.15LU/ha.
If in doubt of these requirements please contact our office at (091) 738900