Anyone done Mid Tier themselves

[bobk]

Not decrying my agent his fee but surely it can't be difficult ?

 

[cb387]

Had this exact conversation with agronomist today. Sitting down tonight to reread all the literature. In theory should be straightforward to do, but there are always little details that are there that catch you out

 

[Flat 10]

The countryside offers are much more straightforward

 

[spin cycle]

The countryside offers are much more straightforward

agreed .... but you can't go that route if you've a sssi i believe

 

[marshbarn]

Allways done all the paperwork myself from the early days of IACS to SFP and BPS , And ELS and now Mid Tier stewardship, not one agent ever involved. Just need to read the booklets and get stuck in .

 

[Pan mixer]

I had help for the first one but then when I got to the second - took on more land later - I did it myself. It is tedious but doable.

 

[Brisel]

I've done my own ELS and Mid Tier. Not difficult but you need to be aware of the devil in the detail. You could always just ask for help on a time only basis.

 

[bobk]

I've done my own ELS and Mid Tier. Not difficult but you need to be aware of the devil in the detail. You could always just ask for help on a time only basis.

The agro is going to help , just a matter of getting the correct options .

 

[steveR]

Not decrying my agent his fee but surely it can't be difficult ?

Yes.

 

[steveR]

The countryside offers are much more straightforward

So I am hoping, in case STW don't come through with the latest STEPS Agreements as they have run out of funding!

 

[Hesstondriver]

yes but it was capital only & relatively small amount.

a good covering letter and a 'strong' case using buzz words helps apparently

 

[bobk]

Raight so they,ve sent the pack but I'll be buggered if I know where to start

 

[farmerm]

agreed .... but you can't go that route if you've a sssi i believe

That is correct, even if no options are applied to the SSSI land on your holding. Bit of a ball ache but I found doing a full application rather than taking the option gives far more flexibility anyway. Yes do your own, you know what works where on your farm far better than your agent and at the end of the day it is you that is responsible for compliance so you need to know what you are having to comply with! Even if it takes you twice as long as the agent to do the application you are earning/saving yourself half the agents hourly fee and that is probably still double the average farmers hourly earnings...

 

[D14]

Not decrying my agent his fee but surely it can't be difficult ?

Yes did it 3 years ago. Fair bit of back and forth between the rpa but found them very helpful to be honest and they would reply generally within a few hours with any queries. I probably could of just spent 30 mins on the phone with them sorting it but felt a paper trail via email was a safer option thinking forward.
Ours was for £60,000 in total over the 5 years. Make sure you use their field area figures and not what the fields really are and you won't have any issues. The annual claims process is very easy as well. If you can do crop and livestock recording and your red tractor stuff then you can easily do a stewardship application.

 

[Brisel]

There are a few ex FWAG advisers who have a more reasonable hourly rate and are experienced at CS schemes. As above, it will probably be a good investment when you consider the value of the agreement. I see no shame in paying for advice in bureaucratic government schemes where the cost of getting it wrong can really add up.

 

[steveR]

yes but it was capital only & relatively small amount.

a good covering letter and a 'strong' case using buzz words helps apparently

Buzz words and lots of "linkage" to existing stewardship and conservation stuff pleases them

 

[toquark]

I've never understood the attraction of paying agents fat fees to fill out forms. Without question, completing these forms yourself will be the best paid few hours of the year.

It's not brain surgery.

 

[Pan mixer]

You also have to make sure that the hedge lengths (if you are applying for hedge maintenance) agree with the RPA ones on your field maps. Otherwise you have to go through the RLE 1 process to alter the hedge lengths to what you think you have.

 

[Cotswold Len]

I don't like paperwork but have done 3 mid-tier applications myself. The advantage is that you can put options exactly where you want. It's a bit frustrating if you have signed up for 5 years and options aren't exactly where you want. I actually found Natural England very helpful when applying.

 

[chipchap]

Did my HLS scheme all myself back in 2006.
Lady from Natural England said it was far better than the agent ones.
It was apparently the office joke, trying to work out where the agent had parked his Range Rover to fill in the options!