MORE than 80,000 Basic Payment Scheme applications were received by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by Monday's midnight deadline.

Farmers who missed the deadline can still had in their applications at specific drop-in centres until July 10. However, late applications lose one per cent of their value each working day and any received after midnight on that day will be rejected.

The drop-in centres are at the RPA offices in Hampshire Court, Newcastle; Lowther Street, Carlisle; and Kings Pool, Peaseholme Green, York. They are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

Guy Smith, vice-president of the NFU, said it was not yet clear exactly how many applicants had failed to meet the deadline, but the figure of more than 80,000 applications received seemed to cover the vast majority.

He said: "We congratulate the RPA for doing what it could to ensure applications got in on time, such as extended opening hours at drop-in centres and use of mobile units.

"In May, we had significant reservations about progress but it would seem things have been put back on track. However, we are conscious a month has been lost this year in the BPS cycle so we call on Government to make sure the RPA has resource necessary to ensure they have every chance of commencing payment by December 1.

"With farm cash flows heading into troubled waters, many farmers will need to see BPS payments hit bank accounts early to keep their businesses afloat. We should also remember there are knock-on effects for the wider rural economy."

Mr Smith called on the EU Commission to recognise fundamental problems with the new CAP that stem from poor design. "Unless they are flexible with enforcement and disallowance there is the risk farmers will be unfairly penalised through no fault of their own," he said.