CONFUSION reigned this week as every Cumbrian farmer received a letter superceding complicated forms just dispatched by the Rural Payments Agency.

Many of the county's farmers will already have filled in their forms from which the new single farm payment will be calculated when it replaces all other subsidies from 2005.

But due to an unexpected statement from the European Commission, there has now been an important change allowing farmers to cherry pick' the best years to get the most favourable SFP.

The new payment is initially based on the average amount of subsidies farmers received for their crops and livestock between 2000 and 2002.

To make it fair for farmers whose average would be skewed by exceptional circumstances like foot-and-mouth, it was possible to ask the RPA to choose a different, more typical, year.

But now, due to a last-minute clarification from the EU, instead of dropping an entire year, they can pick the time when each subsidy scheme gave them the best returns.

An RPA statement said: "A farmer could ask for the results from one scheme to be excluded for a particular year, rather than the year having to be excluded for all schemes.

This means, for instance, that a farmer with cereals and beef whose beef enterprise was affected by force majeure or exceptional circumstances in 2002 could have a reference amount based on 2000 and 2001 for beef support payments and 2000, 2001 and 2002 for Arable Area Payment Scheme payments.

The precise way in which this will apply to farmers in agri-environment schemes is still, however, being clarified."

RPA spokesman Penny Corkish conceded that having to dispatch new letters detailing the change was confusing.

"We didn't know this information was coming out," she said. "The moment we heard we took immediate steps to advise farmers. We posted a notice on the website and the new information went out with the second and third batch of letters. The only people affected are those in the first batch and we have written to all of those people."

Douglas Chalmers of North West branch of the Country Land and Business Association said the change was good news because it offered farmers more flexibility, but added: "It's frustrating that it's come half-way through. Farmers who have already applied will have to go through the rigmarole and hassle again. It's really confusing. There also needs to be immediate clarification on how this affects farmers in agri-environment schemes."

Those who have yet to fill in the paperwork, should still apply to the RPA on form SP2. The RPA will then send a supplementary form to clarify which particular direct payments should be excluded, for which years.

Those who have already submitted the SP2 do not need to do anything a supplementary form will be sent out. For those who have returned the papers but without the SP2 who now decide they want to change the reference period, they should now submit the SP2 as soon as possible. If further clarification is needed, a supplementary form will be sent. For help, contact the RPA on 0845-601-8045.

l LAST week's lead story on the farm page about uncultivated field margins contained a somewhat overoptimistic estimate for the new single farm payment. With an annual per hectare payment of £220 for a farm outside a severely disadvantaged area, a farm with 150 acres would NOT receive £33,000 before modulation as stated (150 multiplied by 220). Since an acre is only 0.4ha, a 150-acre farm (or 60.7ha) would receive an annual cheque for around £13,355. A farm within a severely disadvantaged area, with a £150 per hectare payment, would get £9,105 before modulation. The Westmorland Gazette apologises for its mathe-matical error.