Farmers urged to fill out payment application as deadline approaches

With less than three weeks left to complete 2017 Single Application Forms (SAF), NFU Scotland is encouraging crofters and farmers to fill out their forms before the May 15 deadline.

According to the farmers’ union, the online application process has seen significant improvements in recent years and the vast majority of applications are now made online.

NFUS understands that the number online submissions received Scottish Government so far this year is up 50 percent up when compared with this time last year.

However, the union added that more than three-quarters of all SAF forms – whether completed online, on paper or through an agent – have still to be submitted in the coming days.

A combination of spring work, lambing and calving means that many farmers and crofters will have many other priorities to focus on. The Union has also warned that, unlike 2015 and 2016, there is no likelihood of Europe granting an extension to the application period this year.