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Suckler Cow Premium and HCLA (cattle) schemes open on 1 July
23/06/1998
There are two main changes to the 1998 Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS) and the 1999 Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance (HLCA) Scheme for cattle, which will both open on 1 July.
Under a recently agreed change to the IACS rules on the application of penalties, if producers notify their local area office of an error in the claim, it may be possible to waive the penalty provisions in certain circumstances.
Secondly, the Kerry breed of cow has now been classed by the EC as eligible for SCPS. Other previously designated dairy breeds continue to be ineligible for SCPS.
A combined claim form is being sent to farmers who claimed under either scheme last year.
Claimants under the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme must obtain quota before submitting a claim and should ensure that their suckler cow quota matches the ring-fence area assigned to their entire holding. The ring-fence area is determined from information given in the 1998 IACS Area Aid Application, or, in the case of non-IACS claimants, from information given on the SCPS claim form.
For the new scheme year the Suckler Cow Premium payment rate will be worth £112.41 per head. The rate of Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances for cows will be announced later this year.
The closing date for both schemes is 6 December 1998, although late claims can be accepted up to 31 December but will attract penalties. It is the responsibility of the producer to obtain a claim form, complete it correctly and return it to their local SOAEFD Area Office by the closing date.
Producers are reminded that cattle records (and premium records for SCPS claimants if appropriate) must be accurate and up-to-date at all times. If records do not contain the required information, or are inaccurate or not up-to-date, producers will lose subsidies.
In-calf heifers should not be included in the claim; these can only be used as replacements for cows claimed.
BACKGROUND
1. The Suckler Cow Premium Scheme provides for annual payments to producers who maintain suckler herds for the purpose of rearing animals for the beef market. In 1998 the rate of premium is £112.41, a slight decrease from the rate paid in 1997 due to a change in the agricultural conversion rate. Extensification premium will be paid at the rate of £40.34 where the stocking density is less than 1.0 livestock unit (LU) per hectare. If the stocking density is 1.0LU per hectare or above, but less than 1.4LU, the rate is £27.93. Producers with a stocking density of 1.4LU, or above, are not entitled to extensification premium.
2. Producers can only obtain Suckler Cow Premium if they hold quota of the correct ring-fence area. In Great Britain, suckler cow quota is designated as being within one of 5 ring-fence areas. These are:
· The English Less Favoured Area (LFA);
· The Welsh LFA;
· The LFA of the Scottish Highlands and Islands enterprise area;
· The remainder of the Scottish LFA; and
· Great Britain non-LFA.
A producer's ring-fence area is determined by the information provided on his/her 1998 IACS Area Aid Application. If a producer is exempt from the stocking density calculations and has not submitted an IACS Area Aid Application, information supplied on the claim form will be used to determined the ring-fence area.
3. The Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance Scheme provides for a headage payment to farmers in the Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) on eligible breeding cattle and breeding sheep which form part of a regular breeding herd or flock. The rates of allowance to be paid are determined after the results of the Autumn Review of the Economic Conditions in the Hills and Uplands are known. The Review is carried out in October and November following the autumn stock sales. Payments will be made in early 1999.
News Release: 1305/98
June 23, 1998