The distribution of millions of pounds of convergence funding will be capped at £55,000 per recipient and an extra £10 million of funding for crofters will be mainly given to producers on Region 3 land.
The Agriculture Bill, which was reintroduced to parliament yesterday, may be largely applicable to English farmers alone – but it has stirred up a hornet’s nest and accusations of a “power grab” in Scotland.
A timetable for what is likely to be the farming industry’s last-ever payment of Common Agricultural Policy support has been published by the Scottish Government, with the first tranche of money scheduled for February.
The first tranche of the long-awaited European convergence cash will be distributed to active farmers via a complex formula, the detail of which is still being worked out by the Scottish Government.
Producers in the hills and uplands look set to be the main beneficiaries of the initial £80 million of convergence funds to be distributed by the Scottish Government.
A measure that would secure as much as £2 million of Scottish meat promotion funding has been proposed by the Scottish Government after Westminster’s Agriculture Bill failed to pass through Parliament.
Additional funding of £211 million for Scottish farmers and crofters must be delivered to the Scottish Government now, rather than next April.
Scottish farm leaders have called for immediate publication of a review into farm subsidy allocations across the UK.
A promise to work with the industry to reverse the decline in cattle numbers was given yesterday by Scotland’s rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing.
A 25-year-old contract sheep shearer and farm labourer from Callander is the latest new entrant to benefit from a government scheme providing public sector land for aspiring farmers.