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Rural Payments Agency key dates 2019

Updated 12 August 2020

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The Key dates shows you important dates in 2019 for all three schemes (BPS, CS and ES). We’ve also included some of the things that you need to do to meet the cross compliance and Ecological Focus Area (EFA) /greening requirements of your application(s).

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1. Basic Payment Scheme

  • 1 January 2019 - BPS 2019 scheme year begins
  • 13 March 2019 - BPS application window opens. All 2019 guidance available on GOV.UK
  • 15 May 2019 (midnight) - BPS 2019 entitlement transfer deadline and deadline to have land at customer’s disposal
  • 15 May 2019 (midnight) – deadline for BPS 2019 applications (including Young and New Farmers applications) and CS/ES revenue claims deadlines (without penalty)
  • 31 May 2019 (midnight) – deadline to make certain changes (without penalty) to a BPS application or CS/ES revenue claim already submitted by midnight on 15 May 2019.
  • 10 June 2019 (midnight) – BPS and CS/ES revenue claims late application deadline
  • 31 December 2019 - BPS 2019 scheme year ends
  • 1 December 2019 to 30 June 2020 – RPA makes BPS and CS/ES revenue claim payments

2. Countryside Stewardship

18 February 2019 – application window opens for Higher Tier, Mid Tier, Hedgerows and Boundaries and Wildlife Offers 2021 agreements. All guidance available on GOV.UK

2.1 Deadline for requesting application packs:

  • 31 March 2019– Higher Tier
  • 31 May 2019 – Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers (paper)
  • 30 June 2019– Mid Tier (online) Online applicants for wildlife offers do not need to request an application pack.

2.2 Deadline for submitting your application for a 2021 agreement:

  • 3 May 2019 – Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant / Higher Tier
  • 31 July 2019 – Mid Tier / Wildlife Offers

2.3 Agreement offers sent out:

  • From July 2019 - Hedgerows and Boundaries
  • From November 2019 – Higher Tier, Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers

2.4 Open all year for applications or claims:

  • CS Capital claims
  • ES Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Capital claims
  • Woodland Tree Health applications
  • Woodland Management Plan applications
  • Woodland Creation applications

3. Remaining Greening dates for 2019

  • EFA catch crops must be established by 20 August 2019 and retained until at least 14 October 2019.
  • EFA cover crops must be established by 1 October 2019 and retained until at least 15 January 2020.
  • 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019 – EFA Fallow period.
  • 1 May 2019 to 30 June 2019 – EFA Nitrogen Fixing crops.
  • EFA hedges and trees in a line must be present all year.
  • EFA buffer strips and field margins must be present all year.
  • Environmentally sensitive permanent grassland must be retained all year.
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