Move now to rescue value of payments

FARMERS who leased all their entitlements in 2013 have been strongly advised to ‘move now’ and sell them off before May 15 next.

Galway IFA Chairman, Pat Murphy, told the Farming Tribune that unless such farmers did that, they would lose out completely on the value of the entitlements.

He said that in the ‘100% leased’ cases – namely those who didn’t submit a Single Payment application in 2013 – they will completely lose their entitlements unless they sell or ‘gift’ them to someone before May 15 next.

“There really is an urgency to this issue in that any transaction must be finalised before May 15 next which is now less than a month away.

“What we don’t want to see, is people losing out completely on the value of an entitlement that will go back into the National Reserve unless they sell it or gift it before May 15,” said Pat Murphy.

He strongly advised affected farmers to talk to an agricultural consultant or Teagasc on the issue and to get proper, professional advice.

The value of entitlements varies considerably – in cases they could be as low as €20 and in others, they could be worth up to €1,500.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.