Payments under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and other EU direct aid schemes are set in Euros and are converted to sterling each year using exchange rates calculated in accordance with EU Regulations.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has announced a conversion rate of €1 to £0.90930 this year: a 15% improvement on last year’s figure of €1 to £0.7903 and certainly the most favourable exchange rate since the SPS started. 

The exchange rate set for previous years were:
2008 payments: €1 = £0.79030
2007 payments: €1 = £0.69680
2006 payments: €1 = £0.67770

The favourable 2009 exchange rate will result in  most UK farmers receiving a larger Single Payment than last year, even though modulation increases slightly between 2008 and 2009. 

Actual payments can now be calculated in Scotland and Wales for 2009, although payments will not start until December. In England, however, the RPA still needs to calculate the regional average rates for 2009.

Working on estimates of the likely regional rates; the lowland flat rate amount is estimated at £139.94 per ha, compared to £91.97 per ha in 2008, after all deductions. For combinable crop land in England, the payment after all deductions for 2009 is estimated at £242.2 per ha, compared with £218.1 last year. 

These favourable rates are particularly welcome, against a background of a low commodity prices and general economic uncertainty.