5,000 northern farms to miss out on direct payments under new system
'Over 92% of people who responded to a consultation on Edwin Poots’ plan for the future of farming have rejected it.'
As many as 5,000 small farms in the North will be denied farm payments under plans to reform Northern Ireland's direct payment structure, new figures have revealed..
The new direct payment structure plans will mean a minimum of 10 hectares must be farmed in order for applicants to qualify for payments. It more than triples the area of land needed to be eligible, from 7.4 acres to 24.7 acres, 10 hectares.
