NEGES BWYSIG   IMPORTANT MESSAGE

The BPS 2020 Support Scheme is now available to businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in the previous two years, the Scheme will again pay a loan of up to 90% of the anticipated value of your 2020 claim – payment will be made during week commencing 7 December 2020. You are encouraged to consider applying in case of a long delay in processing your claim.

It is an OPT IN scheme, and you need to apply via your RPW Online account – the application window is open from 1 September until 27 November 2020.

• For those CARA clients who pay us the annual fee (£100 + VAT) to regularly check for messages on their RPW account – we will automatically apply for the 2020 Support Scheme on your behalf AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
• For all other clients, should you wish CARA to apply for you, then please email or telephone us, giving your farm name  and Customer Reference Number (CRN)  – as on your RPW a/c – BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE (27/11/20). A CHARGE of £10 for this service will subsequently be added to your 2021 SAF invoice.

email: office@carawales.co.uk

Tel: 01570 471516

An additional layer of security is being introduced from 3 August 2020 for RPW Online Customers, known as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Step by step guidance is available by following the link to the Welsh Government website.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) for the 7th window (Water theme) will open on  27th July 2020 and will close at midnight on 4th September 2020. As in previous windows, an existing Glastir contract is NOT NECESSARY  to be eligible.

Glastir Small Grants is a standalone scheme providing a maximum of £7,500 funding per theme for capital works to carry out projects to help improve water quality and reduce the risk of flooding. Successful applicants will need to complete the capital works and submit their final claim by 31 March 2021.

Further details, including scheme rules are available by following the links below:-

GSG (Water) Capital Works Technical Guidance Booklet

GSG (Water) Payment Rates

GSG General Rules

GSG How to Apply

If you require further assistance with your application via your RPW on-line account, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516.

Applications for the new Welsh Dairy Support Scheme will open on 18 June 2020, supporting farmers hardest hit by the recent exceptional market conditions due to COVID 19.

Eligible dairy farmers will need to demonstrate they have suffered a reduction of 25% or more in the average price paid for their milk in April and subsequently May, when compared to February 2020. Eligible farmers will be entitled to up to £10,000, to cover around 70% of their lost income to help them to continue to meet fixed costs and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare and the environment. Milk Statements covering February, April and May 2020 will be required as supporting documentation.

Click here to access the Guidance/ How-to-apply Booklet produced by the Welsh Government.

The application will be made via RPW online, and the scheme application window will be open until 14 August 2020. Please contact us at CARA on 01570 471516 if you would like assistance with your application.

Menter a Busnes is working with Welsh Government to collect information from farmers across Wales to help shape a Sustainable Farming Scheme for Wales.

Can we please ask you to complete the short survey, and express an interest in participation in a one to one meeting or a group workshop- both will remain available until 30 June 2020.  It’s vital that farmers take this opportunity to share their opinion in the development of what will replace the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and  schemes such as Glastir.

Click here to follow a link to the Menter a Busnes website for further details.  

 There is a helpline farmers can complete the survey over the phone – 01970 636 297

Congratulations to CARA Director Wendy Jenkins on recently being elected to Fellow of BIAC! BIAC Certificate

On Tuesday 11 February, CARA representatives attended the inaugural BIAC Wales Conference at ICC, Newport. It was a very successful day, with excellent speakers during both morning and afternoon sessions.

The Euro exchange rate has been set for calculating 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

BPS payments for Wales are set in Euros and then converted into sterling and the rate, an average of the European Central Bank exchange rates set in September will be:-

€1 = 0.89092

For reference, the rates during the last 4 years have been:-

2018  €1 = 0.89281

2017  €1 = 0.89470

2016 €1 = 0.85228

2015 €1 = 0.73129

NEGES BWYSIG   IMPORTANT MESSAGE

The BPS 2019 Support Scheme will be available for customers whose 2019 Single Application Form (SAF) will not be processed and ready for payment by the opening of the payment window on 2 December 2019.

The scheme will pay up to 90% of the anticipated value of your 2019 claim, and you are encouraged to consider applying in case of a long delay in processing your claim.

It is an OPT IN scheme, and you need to apply via your RPW Online account – the application will be available from 15 October until 29 November 2019.

• For those CARA clients who pay us the annual fee (£100 + VAT) to regularly check for messages on their RPW account – we will automatically apply for the 2019 Support Scheme on your behalf AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
• For all other clients, should you wish CARA to apply for you, then please email or telephone us, quoting the name of your holding and Customer Reference Number (CRN) BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE (29/11/19). A CHARGE of £10 for this service will subsequently be added to your 2020 SAF invoice.

email: office@carawales.co.uk

Tel: 01570 471516

If you intend to carry out an agricultural improvement project (e.g. ploughing, re-seeding, direct drilling or new drainage) on any semi-natural land, you will need a screening decision from the Welsh Government (WG) before you can proceed.

• Semi-natural land is any area containing less than 25% of improved agricultural land (e.g. perennial Ryegrass and/or White clover)
• Existing highly improved land (e.g. silage fields) will not require screening if it contains more than 25% of these species

You will need to submit a Screening Application form (click here) to your local WG Divisional Office before proceeding with your project. Responses  can take up to 35 days, so please plan ahead. There is no charge for applications, and decisions are valid for 3 years. Breaching the Regulations is illegal, and may lead to prosecution and penalties on your Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or Rural Development Scheme payments.

Further information and guidance is available on the WG website or by contacting the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004 or EIA.unit@gov.wales

CARA staff will also be pleased to assist you with your application. Tel: 01570 471516

If your business uses, treats , recovers, stores or disposes of waste you may need a environmental permit to allow certain activities involving waste to be carried out. Most farmers manage waste in some form, so will need to be registered. There are about 60 waste exemptions, with those most relevant to farmers being;

• D1 depositing dredgings from streams and ditches on the banks
• D7 burning untreated wood or vegetation at the farm
• S1 storing waste in secure containers
• S2 storing waste in a secure place
• S3 storing sewage sludge prior to spreading
• T1 cleaning agricultural plastics and containers
• T6 chipping wood and plant tissue
• T23 composting vegetation waste
• T24 anaerobic digestion of manure and slurry
• U1 using clean builders rubble in the foundations of a new barn or shed, tracks or roads
• U8 using waste tyres on a silage clamp or waste wood shavings as animal bedding
• U10 spreading waste to agricultural land to provide benefit

Each registration lasts 3 years, and will then expire unless you re-register the exemptions you want to continue to use. To register/re-register online, please visit the NRW website by clicking here. Alternatively, you can call the Customer Care Centre on  0300 065 3000 who will advise you on how to register.

A number of registrations are due to expire in the Autumn of 2019 – you can check your expiry date by accessing the Public Register on the NRW website and entering the relevant search parameters.

If you require further assistance or advice with your registration, please contact the CARA office on  01570 471516.