THE National Farmers Union (NFU) is hosting a series of workshops next week to guide its members through the complex application process for farm support.

The NFU’s basic payment scheme workshops are running from April 4 to 8, with events in Hampshire as well as Buckinghamshire, Kent, West Sussex, and Oxfordshire. The nearest workshop for East Hampshire farmers is next Friday, April 8, at Sparsholt College, Winchester, at 11am.

The scheme is the means by which European Union funding under the Common Agricultural Policy is distributed to UK farmers.

William White, the NFU’s South East regional director, said: “The basic payment scheme is now in its second year but its implementation has been plagued with problems. So we will be guiding farmers through the rules and talking them through the application process using the system as it now stands.”

To book a place, call NFU South East on 01730 711950 or e-mail [email protected].