Nonsense from the RPA

[Funny Farmer]

Got an email from the RPA, in the middle of the world wide crisis that is CORVID 19 they have been busy scanning my farm by satellite looking for things like muck heaps and measuring hedges down to 1m- yes really! I don't know what qualifications if any you need to work there but do they seriously think anyone can measure the length of a hedge to within 1 m when were taking 500m plus round a field. As for crops, we had some flooding after drilling last year so quite a bit of winter wheat didn't take and they have pulled me on the bare patches! Because I have under claimed some fields and hedges the total differences are a tiny overclaim but now I have to set to and spend a shed load of time on this for what?
The thing is the RPA are using expensive technology beyond the means of any small farmer to micro measure things in what looks to me like a calculated way to trip up farmers.

 

[ollie989898]

Got an email from the RPA, in the middle of the world wide crisis that is CORVID 19 they have been busy scanning my farm by satellite looking for things like muck heaps and measuring hedges down to 1m- yes really! I don't know what qualifications if any you need to work there but do they seriously think anyone can measure the length of a hedge to within 1 m when were taking 500m plus round a field. As for crops, we had some flooding after drilling last year so quite a bit of winter wheat didn't take and they have pulled me on the bare patches! Because I have under claimed some fields and hedges the total differences are a tiny overclaim but now I have to set to and spend a shed load of time on this for what?
The thing is the RPA are using expensive technology beyond the means of any small farmer to micro measure things in what looks to me like a calculated way to trip up farmers.

Email them back exactly what you have told us.

 

[Coximus]

gET Your MP involved.

I did when they played silly sods with me, and it made the drop most of the pointless Give a Graduate a job stuff instantly aS they would never want to take such nonsense forwards in case you took it to court - the longer they beat a drum about bugger all, the worse they look.
Make sure you keep pressure on an keep escalating it as fast as you can. It means you sooner or later get a person with knowledge assigned to your case.

 

[farmerm]

I am sure a 500m hedge can not be measure to 1m accuracy unless it is unfeasibly straight! What is the accepted resolution by which the length of a curved hedge is measured and where is the centre of a corner? I am even more sure such accuracy can not be achieved from a satellite image, especially a composite of images stitched together from a satellite, a satellite that at the moment of the image could be passing 20miles to the east or west. I can not see the issue with bare patches, they make no difference to a BPS claim value, certainly not since the pulse premium was removed? How much fight to put in depends on just how much you are being penalised sometimes one has to take it on the chin and accept the occasional claim as a cost associated with BPS. There are much bigger cuts to our payments around the corner... It may be more worthwhile putting the time into figuring out how to survive the phase out of payments than fight to retain a small proportion of this one.