BPS15 NI

I have received my payment as of

  • 1-3rd Dec inc

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • 4th - 14th dec

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 15th-21st dec

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • 22nd-31st dec

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • 1st-14th Jan

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 15th-31st Jan

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • not yet

    Votes: 7 70.0%

  • Total voters
    10

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
Nothing here either (other than a letter saying they do not yet know if I am eligible and they hope to make a decision by the end of January).

The 'active farmer' test was always going to be a mess and it is now proving so. I see politicians are now raising cases on behalf of farmers who have been farming for years but are being told they are not 'active' farmers.

What a mess.
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
Over 95% of farmers paid by the end of December.

Oh so foolish to believe Government propaganda!!!

The press release from the Department said that 95% of "eligible" applicants had been paid in December. However, there are 3,000 applicants that still have not been looked at to decide if they are eligible or not! There were 26,500 applicants, so at least 11% of applicants have not yet been deemed eligible or not eligible.

So how can 95% have been paid?

The Minister created a false group - eligible applicants - and then said that 95% of that group were paid, but said it in such a way as to give the impression that 95% of all applicants had been paid. NO NO NO.

Of the original 26,500 applicants, 95% of at best 89% have been paid in December i.e. about 85%.

The Department will not be deciding on the reminder until at least the end of December and they are now even talking about face to face interviews with applicants to see if they are genuine "active farmers", genuine "young farmers" and genuine "heads of holding".

A complete joke all round.

And by the way, still no payment here!
 

Ant Rim

New Member
You seem to be well informed but just to be clear the Minister didn't create the false group of eligible applicant - the civil servants did. Do you not agree that the department should be sure who are Active/Young farmers before making payment? Lots of applications for YF but are they all legitimate - I doubt it!
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
A few more facts from DARD. They have finally revealed that so far only 80% of applicants have been paid. They still have a lot of cases to work through to see if they are eligible to receive payments. Even when the facts are clear, they still try and spin it as something positive. As far as I can see there is little positive about this shambles.

Irish Farmers Journal Saturday 26 January 2016

Minister Updates BPS Figures

Agricultural Minister O’Neill has provided an update this week on the Basic Payment Scheme, stating that 21,445 farm businesses have received payments. She added that 22,213 farm businesses have been deemed eligible for payments so far by DARD.

It means that just over 96% of applicants deemed eligible have been paid, which on the face of it is a very impressive figure. But with 26,494 applications received at 9 June 2015, the figure also highlight that just over 80% of the original applicants have been paid
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
The Irish Farmers Journal of 20th February 2016:-

Young Farmer interviews

As of last week, 36 applicants to the young farmer top-up had been called to an interview to establish if they are head of holding and eligible for the scheme, Minister O'Neill has said.

In total, 33 of the 36 applicants attended the interview with Department officials, with 6 of these applicants subsequently deemed unsuccessful to the scheme. An appeal of any decision can be made by completing an application form within 42 days of the panel's decision being made.


For the record, still no money here and no correspondence from the Department since 13th November.
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
The Irish Farmers Journal of 27th February 2016 :-

DARD rejects 810 non-active farmers in NI

Last July DARD wrote to approximately 3,000 claimants to the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme asking for more evidence to prove that they are active farmers. The final deadline to submit evidence to DARD was 29 January 2016.

With the process nearing completion, decision letters are now going out to applicants. On enquiry, DARD confirmed that of the 3,000 applicants, 810 have been rejected as not meeting active farmer requirements.

The evidence submitted by applicants was assessed by a panel, which included technical input by CAFRE farm advisors. They checked whether the claims made by the applicants matched inputs and outputs from the business. Where there was significant doubt that the applicants was actively farming the land for the majority of 2015, the application for BPS entitlements was rejected. A number of business received multiple inspections from DARD as part of the process.

While most farmers will probably welcome the fact that DARD has managed to exclude some dubious claims from the system, there is still the right of appeal.

A DARD spokesperson confirmed: "In accordance with the Department's Review of Decisions Procedure, applicants have 42 days within which to request s review of decision".


For the record, still no money here and no correspondence from the Department since 13th November 2015.

On a separate but related issue, why is it that only the Irish Farmers Journal carried these articles and gives out the figures. Why do the Farm Week and Farming Life never address this issue?
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
I have now received a lovely little letter from DARD telling me I am not an active farmer.

300 breeding ewes
200 hoggets
20 suckler cows
Contract with Moy Park to keep 1,900 turkeys twice a year.

DARD's response "whilst it does show that you are undertaking some agricultural activity" they are ruling that I am not active. :confused::confused::confused::mad::mad::mad:

The laughable bit (if there is anything to laugh at in this mess) is that they now deem I have made an over declaration by claiming and they are applying over declaration penalties and will seek to recover money over the next three years. :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

Now they have an appeal and a fight on their hands.
 

1594mac

Member
Location
Northern Ireland
Seems the appeals being dealt at the moment where submitted in Dec 2015 and judging from the above post there is some issues but they still want applications for 2016 even if no decision has been made in relation to the active farmer status for 2015 (n)
 

George 903

New Member
You guys are lucky, at least they informed you. I received my letter today, (last business day of April ), to inform me l am not an active farmer. Have farmed all my life, last year made 300 bales of silage and 500 tons in my silo, all receipts for fert , contracting etc. Ready to chew tin I'm so mad.
 

alex04w

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
You guys are lucky, at least they informed you. I received my letter today, (last business day of April ), to inform me l am not an active farmer. Have farmed all my life, last year made 300 bales of silage and 500 tons in my silo, all receipts for fert , contracting etc. Ready to chew tin I'm so mad.

First thing you do is phone them and ask for a copy of the report. They do not tell you that you can get this, but once you phone they will send it out the same day.

This report will tell you more accurately why they believe you are not active in their eyes.

Also ask them to issue you with the appeal forms. You must lodge the appeal on their forms - a letter or phone call is not enough.

You can get a solicitor to assist you with the appeal. Its not cheap, but they know the system better than a farmer will. One very good and experienced firm was advertising in last weeks Farming Life. Pm me for details if you wish.

According to the Irish Farmers Journal it could take two years for all the appeals to go through both stages. Some are already looking to take the Department to Court to get justice and their entitlements.

The Department is a law onto itself and does not like to admit it is wrong!
 

George 903

New Member
First thing you do is phone them and ask for a copy of the report. They do not tell you that you can get this, but once you phone they will send it out the same day.

This report will tell you more accurately why they believe you are not active in their eyes.

Also ask them to issue you with the appeal forms. You must lodge the appeal on their forms - a letter or phone call is not enough.

You can get a solicitor to assist you with the appeal. Its not cheap, but they know the system better than a farmer will. One very good and experienced firm was advertising in last weeks Farming Life. Pm me for details if you wish.

According to the Irish Farmers Journal it could take two years for all the appeals to go through both stages. Some are already looking to take the Department to Court to get justice and their entitlements.

The Department is a law onto itself and does not like to admit it is wrong!
First thing you do is phone them and ask for a copy of the report. They do not tell you that you can get this, but once you phone they will send it out the same day.

This report will tell you more accurately why they believe you are not active in their eyes.

Also ask them to issue you with the appeal forms. You must lodge the appeal on their forms - a letter or phone call is not enough.

You can get a solicitor to assist you with the appeal. Its not cheap, but they know the system better than a farmer will. One very good and experienced firm was advertising in last weeks Farming Life. Pm me for details if you wish.

According to the Irish Farmers Journal it could take two years for all the appeals to go through both stages. Some are already looking to take the Department to Court to get justice and their entitlements.

The Department is a law onto itself and does not like to admit it is wrong!
First thing you do is phone them and ask for a copy of the report. They do not tell you that you can get this, but once you phone they will send it out the same day.

This report will tell you more accurately why they believe you are not active in their eyes.

Also ask them to issue you with the appeal forms. You must lodge the appeal on their forms - a letter or phone call is not enough.

You can get a solicitor to assist you with the appeal. Its not cheap, but they know the system better than a farmer will. One very good and experienced firm was advertising in last weeks Farming Life. Pm me for details if you wish.

According to the Irish Farmers Journal it could take two years for all the appeals to go through both stages. Some are already looking to take the Department to Court to get justice and their entitlements.

The Department is a law onto itself and does not like to admit it is wrong!
Many thanks for your reply, l don't intend to let the department away with this.
 

Boohoo

Member
Location
Newtownabbey
Got a letter from the department saying that we won't be getting a penny or any entitlements because of a duplicate claim. Now have to try to find out who is claiming on land that we own and farm :mad:
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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