Young Farmers Scheme February 27, 2014 12:00 am Young farmers will not be required to meet additional eligibility criteria for the Young Farmers Scheme (YFS) in England. Also, the supplement the YFS offers will be available on the first 90 entitlements held by an eligible claimant. To recap, the YFS is one of the top-ups available under the Basic Payment Scheme. It has to be offered in all Member States but national administrations have some latitude in the detailed rules. Whilst DEFRA announced a number of BPS decisions back in December (see Bulletin 12(13)), these did not cover the YFS. Following industry representations, claimants will not have to meet additional eligibility tests such as qualifications or experience to receive the YFS top-up. The top-up was potentially payable on anywhere between 25 and 90 entitlements. It has been decided to go for the maximum amount. Although providing more clarity, this announcement does not provide all the answers on the YFS. Arguably of more importance are the detailed rules in areas such as the treatment of partnerships.
