Help with SFP entitlements please

Leslie91

Hi folks first time posting here so apologies if I am in the wrong place etc....

Mother in law inherited some land and has it rented out to a beef farmer. She tells me she has to sell her "SFP entitlements" and has until a date in May to do this? (I'm not even sure if that is what the entitlements are correctly called).

Anybody on here who can help me understand how it all works. I've had a look at the Dept of Ag site but don't immediately see a ref to a deadline in May?

Thanks in advance.....

Whats a derailleur?

May 15 is the deadline for applications for the SFP....not sure about the selling of them, or why she thinks she needs to sell them..

Details here...

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/singlepaymentschemedisadvantagedareasschemebeefdataprogrammebdp/

Leslie91

Whats a derailleur? wrote: »

May 15 is the deadline for applications for the SFP....not sure about the selling of them, or why she thinks she needs to sell them..

Details here...

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/singlepaymentschemedisadvantagedareasschemebeefdataprogrammebdp/

Many thanks... she tells me (in a text, have not spoken to her as yet) that the entitlements must be sold as she is not working the land, apparently some new Ag law is dictating it???

Whats a derailleur?

Hmmm, ok a quick search on the Dept's website and my understanding:

To claim SFP you must be an 'eligible farmer' and in order to draw down payment in respect of your SPS entitlements, you must have an “eligible hectare” to accompany each entitlement. In this context, an “eligible hectare” is land that is used for an agricultural activity.

So, that would leave her with the choices of becoming an eligible farmer or transferring the SFP entitlements....and note, these are 2012 dates - May 15, 2012. But the SFP application date is May 15, 2014, so I assume transfer dates are the same.

Re transfer: (from dept website) A specific application form for the Transfer of Entitlements, including transfer by inheritance, along with the detailed rules, is available from the Transfer of Entitlement Section, Single Payment Unit, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Eircom Buildings, Knockmay Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois. Lo-Call 1890-200-560. These forms are also available from local offices of the Department, or on the Department’s website at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie or from TEAGASC/Agricultural Consultant. The closing date for Transfer applications is 15 May 2012.


Transfer of Single Payment entitlements
Single Payment entitlements (Standard and Standard (NR)) may only be transferred to another farmer within the Republic of Ireland. The closing date for the receipt of completed applications to transfer entitlements for the 2012 scheme year is 15 May 2012. The application form to transfer entitlements is available on the Department’s website www.agriculture.gov.ie.
As entitlements are not attached to any specific land, they may be transferred from one farmer to another using one of the following methods as appropriate;
• Inheritance
• Sale
• Gift
• Lease
• Partnership
• Milk Production Partnership
• Scission (division of partnership)
• Change of Legal Entity
• Change of Registration Details of herd-number

All transfers, except those via lease, are processed ‘without land’ even in those cases where land forms part of the overall transaction.
Entitlements that are being leased to another farmer however must be accompanied by an equal or greater number of hectares of eligible land. Leased/rented entitlements will revert to the transferor on expiry of the lease/rental agreement.
Farmers should note that any change to the registration details of a herd-number (e.g. the addition or removal of a family member) requires a parallel change to the registration details of entitlements and a Transfer of Entitlement application should be submitted. Similarly a Transfer application should be submitted where a partnership has been formed or dissolved.

I would ring your local Teagasc office tomorrow and make an appointment (or get your Mother in law to do this) and get their advice...

Username John

As previous poster said - contact an ag advisor or Teagasc might be able to help, but not sure your mother would be a member of Teagasc?

Also, see here for an idea of the value of entitlements http://www.farmentitlements.ie/

bikes

ring an agri advisor , do a search on the net for one in your area

Leslie91

Thanks all. We will contact an adviser as you have suggested. Again thanks for the advice.

Username John

http://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/tax-exemption-to-benefit-farmers-dispensing-of-payment-entitlements-267234.html

merryberry

U had to b farming and claiming entitlements in 2013 to gain entry to new entitlement payment scheme.

Red Sheds

The current SFP entitlements regime ends in December 2014. The rules for obtaining entitlements post 2015 are complicated, but the relevant ones your Mother in law are:

In order for her to be able to keep her SFP entitlements post 2014, she must have received a SFP payment in 2013, or in other words have been actively farming. (I take it she was not). If this is the case then her options are:

1. Do nothing and the SFP entitlements she now owns die at the end of 2014 and no one benefits going forward.
2. Sell them to an active farmer before May 15 and this farmer because they would have received a payment in 2013, will be able to carry them forward into 2015 and effectively keep them alive.

The farmer buying them needs to have one hectare of land per entitlement to be able to claim the payment, so he / she may want to continue to rent your Mother in laws land post 2014. In terms of what they are worth, ring some auctioneers trading in them to get an idea, the farmers journal will ahve advertisments from auctioneers trading in them. If existing tenant dosent want to buy them, then you could try and get some of these auctioneers to sell on your behalf, but this might be difficult if the current tenant has them leased for 2014.

As posted above the applicaiton form is on the Departments website. May 15 isnt far away so best get moving on it, its best to get whatever value you can out of them now. The signature of the transferor and Transferee have to be witnessed by a Teagasc Advisor or Solicitor so make sure you have time to get this done. Make sure you get the payment for them before you sign over.

Do talk to an Ag consultant if you can

merryberry

Red Sheds wrote: »

 If existing tenant dosent want to buy them, then you could try and get some of these auctioneers to sell on your behalf, but this might be difficult if the current tenant has them leased for 2014.

u cant sell the entitlements on the open market if they are being leased with the land again to current tenant. Waste of time leasing them in the first instance anyway cos they will b extinguished at the end of the year and of no benefit to anyone...lessor or leasee

Sunset V

The Journal and the Department had a great booklet a few weeks ago, worth looking on the department's site or the journal's site? Answered every question i had for the few pound I'll be getting.