Support cash on its way for 'less favoured' areas

Those farming in the "less favoured areas" of Scotland will receive their subsidy payments next month, following a move by the Scottish Government yesterday.

Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said the move to hurry payments was made in recognition of the added difficulties brought on by the past two months of severe weather

"Farmers in Scotland's less favoured areas have had to contend with some of the harshest winter conditions we have witnessed in 50 years. I realise that Less Favoured Area Support Scheme funding is crucial to the upkeep of these farms, and to farmers' livelihoods, especially under the circumstances."

Part of the problem in releasing the LFASS payments is that European regulations stipulate that inspections of all farms must be completed before any payments can be made.

The same freezing conditions have made it impossible for officials to travel to remote rural areas and complete the necessary checks.

Despite this problem, Lochhead said he wanted to reassure farmers that officials were treating the payments as an absolute priority, pulling out all the stops to ensure checks are completed as soon as possible and money starts to hit bank accounts by the end of February.

"This follows on from the speedy payment of Single Farm Payments, where 96 per cent of farmers have now been paid."

Borders farmer and former chairman of the Scottish area of the National Beef Association Keith Redpath made a plea yesterday for the politicians to take a "more proportionate" response to errors in Single Farm Payments.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Scottish Beef Cattle Association in Stirling, he highlighted the scale of penalties now being subtracted from individual farmers' SFP and pointed out that the vast majority of those penalised were livestock keepers.

This was due, in his opinion, to the quantity and complexity of regulation in the livestock sector. "Keeping livestock is the biggest threat to maintaining full subsidy," he claimed.

In 2009, some 1.4 million was taken in penalties. This was a five-fold increase on the previous 12 months following a tightening up by EU auditors.

"We must put forward proposals for more fairness in penalty system and also implement a sensible view of what is defined as 'intentional'," Redpath said.

Another approach would be to reduce the burden of legislation on the livestock industry.

Of particular concern to Redpath, with his holdings on either side of the Border, was the discrepancy between what is allowed in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England compared with those in Scotland