SFP info campaign draws to a close

ONE of the biggest information campaigns so far undertaken by the Department of Agriculture to assist farmers with applying for their Single Farm Payments (SFP) will draw to a close at the end of next week.

Up to 30 local information sessions offering one-to-one consultations for farmers throughout the country will conclude on Tuesday. But special phone help lines will stay open until Friday, May 4, the closing date for the 2007 SFP application.

The lines — with dedicated numbers for the respective counties — remain open each evening to 10pm.

Department of Agriculture staff will also man the helplines this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 6pm.

The remaining public sessions in Munster (all starting at 6pm) are at the Earl of Desmond Hotel, Tralee this evening; tomorrow at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney; and Monday, April 30 at Auburn Lodge Hotel, Ennis.

Special attention is being drawn this year to the requirement for farmers who have not used their entitlements over the past two years. These will go to the National Reserve without recompense to the farmer.