If you don’t have a Special Area of Conservation or Special Protection Area on your land it looks like you may lose your place on a slimmed-down version of the AEOS scheme.
Catriona Murphy of the Farming Independent (12/4/2011) writes:
Demand for AEOS places is likely to outstrip the number available by 2:1, with some 15,000 farmers expected to apply.With the budget slashed from €50m to €25m and a €1,000 reduction in the maximum payment per farmer, it looks increasingly likely that demand from SAC and SPA farmers could be enough to account for all available places. At a maximum payment of €4,000 per farmer, the €25m budget for 2011 would only allow 6,250 farmers into the scheme this year, but not every farmer will reach the maximum payment.
Given that there are more than 20,000 farmers with SACs on their land, the chances of a farmer securing a place in the AEOS without an SAC or SPA designation are extremely slim.
Click here to read more.
