A damning report by a Scottish Agricultural College consultant has revealed the extent of the subsidy grab by inactive or "slipper" landlords that has left some new entrants struggling with no, or reduced CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) support payments.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan asked SAC consultant Robert Ramsay, who is also a young farmer from Darvel in Ayrshire, to compile the report for him when he met with SAYFC (Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs) Agri-Affairs office bearers at this year's Highland Show.
The Young Farmers' representatives highlighted to the Commissioner some of the negative issues that the CAP reforms had brought about, such as inactive landlords still being eligible to claim Basic Payment, thus restricting the funding available to new entrants and genuinely active farmers.
Mr Ramsay works in SAC Consulting's Ayr office that submitted 621 SAFs (Single Application Form) this year. Happily, many of those forms will allocate entitlements to new entrants and those who were not allocated SFP (Single Farm Payment) entitlements in 2005. However, according to Mr Ramsay, it is not all positive. With the definition of activity being very vague, there are a significant proportion of landlords who have chosen to claim their land on their IACS (Integrated Administration and Control System) in the hope they will get entitlement. This puts significant pressure on the tenants who will be expected to meet their rent and actively farm the land with no support payments.
Mr Ramsay said: "The apparent demise of the "slipper farmer" was applauded by the industry as a whole. however, with a new CAP system, a new type of slipper farmer has developed and this type has a far greater impact on active farmers.
"Of the 621 SAFs that SAC Consulting's Ayr office completed in 2015, some 59 active farming businesses had seasonal land, which they claimed in 2014, taken off them to allow their landlord to claim the new Basic Payment. This is possible due to a technicality in the legislation. By submitting an IACS and activating entitlement in 2013, that is enough to demonstrate that they were actively farming, in spite of the fact that the business had absolutely no agricultural activity. In some cases, the last real agricultural activity the claimant had would be as long ago as 2003."
Quantifying the problem, Mr Ramsay reports that SAF forms submitted through SAC Ayr represents approximately 3 per cent of the forms submitted nationally. Just under 10 per cent of Ayr clients had a reduced claim in 2015, due to inactive landlords being eligible for payment. "From discussions with other consultants, a similar story can be seen across the whole country," he added.
Mr Ramsay went on: "As has been highlighted on so many occasions, a vibrant tenanted sector is vital to the ongoing success of Scottish agriculture, particularly where new entrants are concerned. In a number of cases, landlords have taken land away from new entrants who have been farming without government support and are literally hanging on by their finger tips. When a landlord takes away their right to claim on the land, a reduction in not only their payment but also their enthusiasm to take their farm forward will result. SAYFC Agri-Affairs team are deeply concerned by this."
David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land and Estates (SL&E), the organisation representing the interests of landowners said: "Seasonal grazing is an important part of Scottish farming and when it became clear that there was an issue in the seasonal grazing market in some areas, SL&E highlighted how the Scottish Government's own decisions on the siphon on transfers of entitlements without land have caused the problem. We met with Scottish Government officials in an attempt to find a solution but it was clear that the Government did not want to reverse its decision.
"It is important to note that this matter is one that affects many different arrangements including farmers letting land to other farmers, as happens all over Scotland, and that it cannot be construed as a simple traditional landowner-tenant issue. Equally it is important to understand that inactive landowners would not be eligible for support; landowners must meet the requirements of the scheme in terms of minimum activity requirements."
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