The introduction of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)
The new CAP Reform for farmers will be replacing the Single Payment Scheme in 2015 with the introduction of the Basic Payment Scheme. Â Get prepared by organising your maps quickly and easily with Pear Technology.
Pear’s rural land management mapping software, PT-Mapper, allows you to cover all the forthcoming requirements, including:
Greening
As a farmer, you will need to comply with three “greening measures”. These three measures will affect up to 30% of the BPS payment, so it is important to ensure you are compliant with the requirements. Additional EFA options may be added in time, but initially the three areas are:
Ecological Focus Areas
Buffer strips and hedges count as high importance EFAs and are weighted highly. However, farmers deciding to use hedgerows as part of their EFA could face a significant delay to their payment because of the mapping requirements. It is therefore important to submit suitably mapped claims as soon as possible.
Crop diversification
Environmentally beneficial crops, such as nitrogen fixing, catch crops and cover crops are included. There will be no restrictions on inputs (pesticides and fertilisers). The list of crops counting towards this requirement is to be published shortly.
Maintenance of permanent grassland
This relates to land lying fallow where you have sown with environmental seed mixes such as wild bird seed mix and pollen and nectar mixes.
Weightings and coefficients
These weightings will affect how much each option will count for on the ground:
|  Features | Conversion factor | Weighting factor | Ecological focus area |
| Buffer strips | 6 | 1.5 | 9m² |
| Hedges | 5 | 2 | 10m² |
| Catch crops/green cover | n.a | 0.3 | 0.3m² |
| Nitrogen fixing crops | n.a | 0.7 | 0.7m² |
| Land lying fallow | n.a | 1 | 1m² |
For example hedgerows 100m will be multiplied by a conversion factor of 5, and the weighting factor of 2 Result= 100 x 5 x 2= 1000m2 Â Please see additional documentation on information relating to double funding and decisions regarding GAEC standards.
*Document referenced from the CLA documentation
For more information, please visit:
Gov.uk- Countryside gets set to claim £15billion under CAP reform NFU- Basic Payment Scheme – BPS CLA- BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME Robinson and Hall- CAP Reform 2015 – The New Basic Payment Scheme
