1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140 
Lower Rates for Lime under New Scheme
Page 82
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Re-arranged payments plan could hit country hauliers hard
FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has
• announced its new Agricultural Lime Scheme to operate from August 1 this year.
The question of the payment of the subsidy has been under consideration for a number of years and has been the subject of negotiations with farmers and suppliers. In the past the total subsidy has amounted to approximately £9 million and this amount will be continued but will he distributed differently.
The new scheme incorporates three main changes:—
(I) The subsidy will no longer be calculated on actual costs incurred by the farmers; instead, the contribution will be made up of two parts, one a tonnage contribution (varying with the kind and the quality of lime used) and the other a transport contribution (varying with the distance). In no case will the total payment exceed 75 per cent of the farmers' actual costs: it will normally be less than that.
(2) Trade charges will not be controlled--farmers will ne free to negotiate the most favourable terms with suppliers.
(3) There will be a new and strict timetable for sending in applications and spreading declarations. The subsidy cannot normally be paid unless the closing rates are strictly observed.
To qualify for contribution the lime must have been purchased from an Approved Supplier and must not be less in quantity than 2 tons.
Rate Depends on Quality The purpose of the new scheme is the same as that of previous lime schemes, that is, to assis't occupiers of agricultural land towards meeting their costs of liming the land to improve or maintain the fertility of the soil.
The amount of the contribution will depend upon the kind and quality of the lime used and the distance it is transported and a list of contribution rates is given in the Order. The contribution per ton varies from 65s. for hydrated lime to 4s, for waste or by-products lime of low neutralizing value. In Great Britain the basic scale of transport contributions will be as follows:— The rates for transport contribution given above will not please the haulier of lime.
Under the existing scheme the Farmer was paid around two-thirds of his total claim for purchase of lime, transport and spreading. In order to facilitate the checking of these claims in 1957 a Schedule of Maximum Haulage Rates was prepared. In view of the substantial increases in costs since 1957, lime carriers have been pressing for an increase in the maximum rates. It now seems apparent that no increase is to be forthcoming from the lime subsidy scheme. A comparison of the old schedule with the new contribution seems to show that the new contribution is around twothirds of the old maximum rate. Given below is a table showing the old and the new for loads of six tons and over.