Farmers and crofters can now apply for their share of £38million in coupled support for beef and upland sheep.
Farm minister Richard Lochhead has encouraged producers to apply for the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS).
“Following a challenging summer for farmers, these two new schemes will provide a welcome support for a vital part of the farming industry,” said Mr Lochhead.
“I would urge farmers to make sure applications for these new schemes, which are worth around £38.8million in total, are submitted in plenty of time ahead of the relative deadlines and make the most of the money available to them.”
The beef scheme, which closes for applications on December 31, replaces the old Scottish Beef Scheme and will provide support for calves born on or after December 2, 2014.
It will offer two different rates of support – one for island beef producers and one for those on the mainland.
The sheep scheme, which closes for applications on October 16, is completely new and designed to provide support to sheep producers in remote and fragile areas.
Eligible farm businesses are those with 80% or more of their land in the Basic Payment Scheme region 3, and no more than 200 hectares (495 acres) of land in region 1.
They can only claim on home-bred stock females which must be kept on the claimant’s holding, or away winterings, from October 17 in the claim year to March 31 the following year.
The animals must be less than 12 months old at the start of the retention period, and producers can only claim on one ewe hogg for every four hectares (9.88 acres).
NFU Scotland urged government to provide sheep producers with more information on the scheme, warning a six-week application window could prove too short.
President Allan Bowie said: “Scotland’s hill sheep farmers and crofters need a clearer steer over this important new scheme that could help underpin returns to their business. The scheme is now live, applications are open, but that information has, to date, been poorly communicated to potential claimants and we need Scottish Government to turn that around with a degree of urgency.
“With SUSSS already open and the clock ticking, we need cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead to send clear and concise information to all those producers likely to be eligible, making them aware of the application process and what would be required in making a claim. Given the short application window, that must be a priority and ideally delivered in days, not weeks.”
Farmers and crofters can apply for both schemes online or via a paper application.
Paper applications for the beef scheme must be submitted through local area offices, while applications for the sheep scheme must be sent to the Inverness office.
The beef scheme is expected to deliver £32.7million in support, while the sheep scheme will provide £6.1million in funding. Final figures will depend on exchange rates at the time of settlement.