IT has been confirmed that as of Monday (December 4), 97% of farmers received their final Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments in the first few days of the payment window. 

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Defra said this means a further £525million has now been released into the rural economy, building on the advance payments made in August. 

The announcement comes ahead of the move to delinked payments, which are due to replace the BPS in England in 2024. These payments will run until the end of 2027, when they will then be phased out. 

A spokesperson for Defra said: "So far over 91,000 applications and claims have been completed across the BPS, Countryside Stewardship (CS) revenue and Environmental Stewardship (ES) schemes. These payments support farmers to run profitable and productive businesses while delivering environmental outcomes in a range of habitats.

"We have acted on feedback to support farmers improve their cashflow by releasing Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payments early. Farmers who have a live SFI 2023 agreement before the end of this year will receive an accelerated payment worth 25% of the annual value of their agreement in the first month of their agreement, helping with cashflow and ensuring SFI works for farm businesses."

For farmers whose agreements started in October and November, they will have received their early payment. But for those whose agreement started on December 1, they will receive payments in the next few days. 

RPA chief executive, Paul Caldwell, said: "This year farmers and rural businesses have continued to face a number of challenges and that’s why the RPA has been working hard to improve cash flow and make sure farmers receive their final BPS payments as quickly as possible. 

"Delinked payments will provide financial support over the next four years as we encourage farmers and land managers to enter our environmental land management schemes where they will be paid to take actions that will support sustainable food production while protecting the environment."

The delinked payments will be based on the average BPS payment made to the businesses between 2020 to 2022. The business must have claimed and been elegible for BPS 2023 to receive delinked payments.

RPA will pay the delinked payments to anyone who is elegible directly to farmers' bank accounts via BACS transfer. If you are due to receive the payment, Defra is reminding farmers to make sure that RPA has the most up-to-date bank details. If you need to update your account details, call the Rural Payments Agency helpline on 03000 200 301, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm.

According to Defra, all elegible farmers should receive their CS/ES and final BPS 2023 payments before June 30 2024. 

"We are working hard to complete our checks and pay the remainder as promptly as possible but some claims can take longer to complete," the Defra spokesperson added.