NFU Cymru is imploring its members to complete Single Application Forms (SAF) as a matter of urgency.
Completion of the form ensures access to farm support under the new Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and land-based rural development payments including Glastir Entry, Glastir Advanced, Glastir Organic and Glastir Woodland.
NFU Cymru president, Stephen James, said: “This year’s SAF is proving to be the most complicated and time-consuming on record. Our members and NFU Cymru staff who provide assistance with SAF completion are reporting that the time taken to fill in the form is at least twice what it is has been in previous years.
“The main areas of concern surround the additional measuring required as a result of the decision by Welsh Government to exclude land areas with tree densities greater than 100 trees per hectare, the additional greening mapping requirements and for farmers in Glastir (the Welsh Government's sustainable land management scheme, through which it offers financial support to farmers and land managers) the cross checking required between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 schemes.”
Once the SAF form has been submitted a formal acknowledgement, will be sent out either electronically or through the post, depending on how the form was completed.
NFU Cymru is advising farmers to check this through thoroughly to ensure that the form is correctly completed. Should there be any errors, the farming body said, inform Rural Payments Wales immediately if you want to make a change in order to avoid possible penalties.
The absolute deadline for Welsh Government to receive the SAF and supporting documents is Friday, 15 May 2015.
It is possible to make changes to the application up to and including the 1 June without a penalty. Applications received between 16 May and 9 June 2015 will be accepted but will incur financial penalties. Applications received after Monday, 9 June 2015 will be completely rejected.