A FARMER is encouraging colleagues in the industry to make applications for vital subsidies less stressful by signing up for what he believes is a ‘very easy’ new system.

Robert Warburton, who farms in the rolling Eden Valley, is endorsing the service launched this year by the Rural Payment’s Agency which enables farmers and agents in England to submit their 2010 Single Payments Scheme (SPS) application online.

Mr Warburton was nominated by the NFU to take part in the RPA’s pilot service in 2009, and having seen the benefits, he is now a keen supporter of the electronic service and plans to use it for his forthcoming SPS application.

He said: “It’s really very easy to use and a great improvement on filling out the forms by hand and posting them off. SPS Online is extremely fast and very easy to follow.

“Once your application has been submitted you also save the time and money you would have spent delivering the forms to the post office or drop-in centre.”

With his brother Richard, Mr Warburton has been farming near Appleby for 30 years, although his parents started in 1956. The farm has a 200 cow organic dairy, 550 acres of land for grazing and 30 acres of woodland. They also grow 100 acres of spring barley and spring oats, all for home use.

“It normally would take me the best part of a day just to re-check my figures but, with the built-in checks and assisted calculations, it took me fewer than two hours using the electronic service. The instant acknowledgement of receipt by RPA gave me peace of mind.”

Mr Warburton, who has a keen interest in conservation issues and was previously chairman of Cumbria Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, added: "I felt that submitting my application using SPS Online was accurate and secure, more so than using the paper form.

“The forms can’t get lost, and thanks to an instant legal receipt applicants can also be confident that the information has been submitted and received safely.”

For more information, visit www.rpa.gov.uk. To access SPS Online visit the ‘RPA Online’ pages at www.wholefarm.defra.gov.uk.