Applications for the new Welsh Dairy Support Scheme will open on 18 June 2020, supporting farmers hardest hit by the recent exceptional market conditions due to COVID 19.

Eligible dairy farmers will need to demonstrate they have suffered a reduction of 25% or more in the average price paid for their milk in April and subsequently May, when compared to February 2020. Eligible farmers will be entitled to up to £10,000, to cover around 70% of their lost income to help them to continue to meet fixed costs and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare and the environment. Milk Statements covering February, April and May 2020 will be required as supporting documentation.

Click here to access the Guidance/ How-to-apply Booklet produced by the Welsh Government.

The application will be made via RPW online, and the scheme application window will be open until 14 August 2020. Please contact us at CARA on 01570 471516 if you would like assistance with your application.

Due to the current Corona Virus pandemic it is important to respect government policy and health advice. Although currently this does not prevent us from either visiting you, or you visiting the office, we must take the virus into account.

 For Single Application Form (SAF) purposes, our current advice is that we will complete appointments via telephone where possible. In cases where there are land changes, cropping or other complications, we will ask you to attend the office in person.

 For book keeping customers who are worried about visits, we can arrange to call by and pick up the information, it can be left in a safe place on the farm for us to collect.

 Where there is a necessity to meet face to face, please alert us if you have any of the reportable symptoms of Corona Virus. We may need to review the situation as time proceeds.

 If you wish to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to phone the office or Iwan (07929164013), John (07929164011) or Wendy (07929164012)

 Many thanks for your cooperation.

 CARA Ltd

Following its success in 2019, Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water have relaunched their free and confidential pesticide disposal scheme for farmers and land managers in Wales.

It includes:

• Pesticides
• Herbicides / Weed killer
• Slug pellets
• Sheep dip
• Rodenticides

Food Centre Wales is a dedicated food technology centre offering advice, technical services and training to business start-ups, SME’s and existing food manufacturers. 

Whether you have a great idea to develop a new food product and don’t know where to start, or you are an established manufacturer who needs help troubleshooting or gaining accreditation, FCW has a team of expert Food Technologists who can help guide and support you through the whole process.

The centre boasts a dedicated Research and Development building with unrivalled facilities for food manufacturers to develop new and existing products. The technical facility is designed to enable food producers to manufacture products on a small industrial scale.  Expert Food Technologists are on hand to assist the use of all processing areas and equipment, as well as offer advice and guidance throughout.  They will help you scale up your recipes, train you in the use of the equipment, set processing conditions – all necessary for your manufacture.

Click here for contact details and a link to the FCW website.

Congratulations to CARA Director Wendy Jenkins on recently being elected to Fellow of BIAC! BIAC Certificate

On Tuesday 11 February, CARA representatives attended the inaugural BIAC Wales Conference at ICC, Newport. It was a very successful day, with excellent speakers during both morning and afternoon sessions.

Expressions of Interest for the 7th Window of the Farm Business Grant (FBG) will open on 2 March 2020 and close at midnight on 10 April 2020. It will provide farmers in Wales with a 40% contribution towards capital investments in equipment and machinery that have been pre-identified as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to farm enterprises. The minimum grant available is £3,000 and the maximum is £12,000.

Applications are to be made via your Rural Payments Wales on-line account. A full list of eligible items linked to animal health, genetics and performance; crop management; energy efficiency; resource efficiency and ICT are available on the Welsh Government website. The key requirements is that the farm must have registered with Farming Connect before submitting an application, and that a partner/director in the farming business must attend a Farming for the Future Roadshow organised by Farming Connect. Click here to book a place.

The dates for this round of Roadshows are as follows:-

03/03/2020 – Glasdir, Llanrwst LL26 0DF

05/03/2020 – Penglais School , Aberystwyth SY23 3AW

10/03/2020 –The Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot SA13 1PJ

It is a mandatory requirement that you attend one of these events in order to express an interest in the scheme If you would like further assistance with your application, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516.

Cross Compliance sets out the important regulatory baseline standards that all farmers must meet to receive Common Agricultur al Policy payments including Basic Payment Scheme or Rural Development land based schemes (e.g. Glastir) support in Wales.
The Verifiable Standards set out in detail the obligations of a farmer who receives payments under Cross Compliance and the Basic Payment Schemes. If you claim these payments, you must familiarise yourself with these standards.

Cross Compliance Verifiable Standards-2020

Any payment recipient found to be in breach of these standards will have their payment reduced, recovered or withheld.

The Euro exchange rate has been set for calculating 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

BPS payments for Wales are set in Euros and then converted into sterling and the rate, an average of the European Central Bank exchange rates set in September will be:-

€1 = 0.89092

For reference, the rates during the last 4 years have been:-

2018  €1 = 0.89281

2017  €1 = 0.89470

2016 €1 = 0.85228

2015 €1 = 0.73129

NEGES BWYSIG   IMPORTANT MESSAGE

The BPS 2019 Support Scheme will be available for customers whose 2019 Single Application Form (SAF) will not be processed and ready for payment by the opening of the payment window on 2 December 2019.

The scheme will pay up to 90% of the anticipated value of your 2019 claim, and you are encouraged to consider applying in case of a long delay in processing your claim.

It is an OPT IN scheme, and you need to apply via your RPW Online account – the application will be available from 15 October until 29 November 2019.

• For those CARA clients who pay us the annual fee (£100 + VAT) to regularly check for messages on their RPW account – we will automatically apply for the 2019 Support Scheme on your behalf AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
• For all other clients, should you wish CARA to apply for you, then please email or telephone us, quoting the name of your holding and Customer Reference Number (CRN) BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE (29/11/19). A CHARGE of £10 for this service will subsequently be added to your 2020 SAF invoice.

email: office@carawales.co.uk

Tel: 01570 471516

If you take more than 20 cubic meters (4,400gallons) per day from a surface or groundwater source (eg. river, well or borehole) , you are likely to need a licence from Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

• you will lose your right to abstract water from 1 January 2020
• if you do not submit a valid application by 31 December 2019 and continue abstraction post this date then you will be committing a criminal offence for which NRW may take enforcement action against you (including prosecution).

The application fee will be either £135 or £1,500 depending on which type of licence is appropriate for your abstraction activity. It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that applications are submitted in September 2019 to allow NRW time to address any issues with your application.

Follow this link to the NRW website for more information, and please contact Kebeck (Keith Owen / Becky Jones) for any further advice/assistance on this matter.
tel: 07522 780346