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| The value of the Code, and its relevance to practitioners, has been enhanced by the contributions of a wide range of people and organisations. The Muirburn Code provides good practice guidance for burning and cutting of vegetation, and sets out the statutory restrictions that apply. Under cross compliance, recipients of direct support payments (e.g. Basic Payment Scheme) have to meet the requirements of Good Agricultural and Environment Conditions (GAECs), some of which relate to the Muirburn Code. |  |  |
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| Over £292 million paid out. The majority of farmers and crofters are receiving up to 90% of their CAP basic payment support loan earlier than previously anticipated. Loan payments were scheduled in the first week of November. However, more than 12,300 farmers and crofters are now receiving payments worth over £292 million - earlier than ever before. |  | |
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| Scottish farmers owed millions in convergence payments. Scottish hill farmers are owed around £160 million in CAP funding that the UK Government has failed to return to Scotland. Under the last CAP reform, the EU set out to redistribute direct payments more equally based on average Euros per hectare. The UK only qualified for a £190 million uplift because Scotland's average rate brought the UK below the qualifying threshold. |  | |
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| A new automated checking system to recognise the eligibility of Scottish cattle as having a minimal risk of BSE has been introduced. The new system comes just months after Scotland achieved the lowest possible risk status level - negligible - for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), in July 2017. |  | |
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| As you may be aware, we recently announced that our SUSSS application deadline has been extended until 30 November 2017. Please note farmers have until 30 November to submit their claim, by which time they must have tagged their animals, with the retention period for the scheme remaining unchanged at 17 October 2017- 31 March 2018. |  | |
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| Scotland's Tenant Farming Commissioner, Bob McIntosh, is encouraging landlords and tenants to take part in a survey of views and experiences of the conduct of agents engaged to act on their behalf in matters relating to agricultural holdings. |  | |
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| Farmers urged to remain vigilant. Farmers in Scotland should remain watchful for signs of bluetongue virus following the detection of the virus in post import checks in a number of cattle imported from France. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) successfully picked up the infected animals through the post-import testing regime. |  | |
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| The submission of the plan to Scottish Ministers follows the election in March 2017 of 6 new Commissioners to the Board of the crofting regulator, based in Inverness. The newly elected Commissioners joined 3 appointed members to make up the Board, whose first major task was to consider a Policy Plan to cover their 5-year term in office. |  | |
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| A National Statistics Publication for Scotland. The latest set of figures on farming in Scotland shows increases in cereals, potatoes and sheep, but cattle numbers were down slightly. There was a small increase in the area rented, but the area of secure tenancies decreased. The Scottish Government's Chief Statistician today released the results from the June 2017 Agricultural Census. | .jpg) | |
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| A National Statistics Publication for Scotland. Scotland's Chief Statistician today published three reports in relation to Pesticide Usage in Scotland. These were: pesticide use on arable crops and potato stores in 2016, pesticide use on soft fruit crops in 2016 and rodenticides on arable farms 2016. | | |
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