The Lump Sum Exit Scheme is open for applications, but advisers warn that key questions
need to be answered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) before the closure of the 2022
entitlement trading window on 16 May.

Application forms for the scheme, designed to allow farmers to leave the industry in a
managed way with a one-off payment from the government, are now available along with
updated guidance notes.

However, Hugh Townsend of Townsend Chartered Surveyors has warned there are still
questions about how the scheme will operate – particularly on the potential impact of
anyone buying or selling entitlements this year.

These must be answered urgently so that anyone needing to sort the balance of their
entitlements by the 16 May deadline has time to do so, he said. Read more…