Scottish farmers and crofters are being reminded of looming deadlines for Scotland's agri-environmental schemes, all due on 31 December.
Beef calf scheme, Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grants Scheme and Scrapie Monitoring Scheme applications are all soon due, with AECS opening early in the new year.
Applications to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) 2021 close at midnight on 31 December, a scheme worth around £40m to the nation’s beef producers.
Elsehwere, the final deadline for submitting claims to the Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grants Scheme (SACGS) also falls on 31 December.
Only items that are on farms or crofts, operational and supported with invoices and proof of payment by the 31 December deadline will be eligible for payment.
The Scottish government has indicated that grant offers for unclaimed items by this date will be withdrawn.
For those wishing to export sheep to Northern Ireland, the Scrapie Monitoring Scheme (SMS) was amended in November to allow for a new status that will support breeding sheep sales between Scotland and NI.
Applications for Scrapie Qualifying Status (SQS) must be completed by 31 December.
The scrapie monitoring scheme is being facilitated by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) on behalf of Defra.
The 2022 Agri-Environment Climate Scheme application round will open on 24 January and close on 29 April 2022, with the closing date extended to 31 May for collaborative applications.
Applications for Slurry Storage can be made during the main AECS window, however, the deadline for stand-alone slurry store applications is Friday 24 June 2022.
For applications for Improving Public Access (IPA), there is a separate opening period, 28 February 2022 to 29 April 2022 inclusive.
NFU Scotland has urged farmers and crofters to remind themselves of these deadlines.
The union's vice president Robin Traquair said: “Time is running out to get your applications in to several key schemes, but a few hours of form filling will be time well spent.
“Many offices will be closed for some time over the last few days of the year, and the deteriorating Covid situation means greater reliance on online and telephone support to sort out queries.
"I would urge you to start sooner rather than later to get your applications completed in case help is required.”
