The Department of Agriculture will start writing out to each of the 6,000 farmers who applied to the National Reserve in the coming weeks.

The focus will be on clarifying that the land submitted on the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme form is actually being farmed by them in 2015. Evidence required will include a written lease or rental agreement if land is not owned. They may also look for evidence that the rental amount has actually been paid.

The Department will also check to see if animals are in the herd number of the applicant by using the AIM database.

For farmers who have crops, the Department will look for evidence of purchases of sprays and possibly the sale of the harvested crop. It has already been busy contacting farmers who did not submit the required education or income documents.

Given the potential to gain entitlements, the response has been good. The aim is to make payments to successful applicants on 1 December.

Scottish derogation

The Department has the majority of the information it needs to clarify the position of the 3,500 farmers who applied under the derogation. They will look at the AIM database and the returned flocks register for sheep. Many of the farmers had received DAS payments, making the job easier. Tillage farmers are more difficult to establish. Records of fertiliser and spray purchases or crop sales might be required to verify the farmer was farming in 2013 and this year.