Written by cpm from CPM Magazine
As the Government puts forward promises of “trusted advisors” who’ll administer ELMs, CPM talks to farmers in environmental schemes who’ll never trust RPA again. It’s the way the schemes are administered and that the RPA communicates that are all wrong, and it’s the environment that loses out. By Tom Allen-Stevens and Melanie Jenkins Delays, administrative errors and heavy-handed tactics from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) when dealing with appeals against hefty penalties are putting farmers off applying to Countryside Stewardship and ELMs. CPM has been approached by several farmers and agents whose clients are £10,000s out of pocket following fines and deductions. Some of them have agreed to tell their story only if their identity is withheld for fear of reprisals and further deductions on continuing contracts with RPA. One Herts mixed farmer has five Mid Tier CS agreements and told CPM they’ve been battling RPA ever since they applied for the first one that started in 2017. “They lost the application forms, and initially blamed us, until we provided written proof they had been submitted correctly.” It wasn’t until mid-June that they finally received confirmation for the agreement, that started in Jan. “By then it was too late…
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As the Government puts forward promises of “trusted advisors” who’ll administer ELMs, CPM talks to farmers in environmental schemes who’ll never trust RPA again. It’s the way the schemes are administered and that the RPA communicates that are all wrong, and it’s the environment that loses out. By Tom Allen-Stevens and Melanie Jenkins Delays, administrative errors and heavy-handed tactics from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) when dealing with appeals against hefty penalties are putting farmers off applying to Countryside Stewardship and ELMs. CPM has been approached by several farmers and agents whose clients are £10,000s out of pocket following fines and deductions. Some of them have agreed to tell their story only if their identity is withheld for fear of reprisals and further deductions on continuing contracts with RPA. One Herts mixed farmer has five Mid Tier CS agreements and told CPM they’ve been battling RPA ever since they applied for the first one that started in 2017. “They lost the application forms, and initially blamed us, until we provided written proof they had been submitted correctly.” It wasn’t until mid-June that they finally received confirmation for the agreement, that started in Jan. “By then it was too late…
The post Countryside Stewardship – The ‘brutal’ side of the RPA appeared first on cpm magazine.
Continue reading on CPM website...
If you are enjoying what you read then why not considering subscribing here: http://www.cpm-magazine.co.uk/subscribe/