Farmers across Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd are among thousands across Wales receiving more than £152 million in advance support payments as the new Sustainable Farming Scheme gets under way.

Welsh Government figures show 90 percent of farms claiming under the Sustainable Farming Scheme’s Universal Layer have now received an advance payment, worth a combined £117.3 million.

A further £35.5 million has been paid to 94 percent of farms claiming through the Basic Payment Scheme.

The payments will be particularly significant in rural areas such as Mid and West Wales, where agriculture remains a major part of the local economy and many businesses depend on annual support payments.

Advance payments under both schemes were increased from 70 percent to 80 percent this year in response to pressures facing farming businesses following the exceptionally dry summer. Remaining advance payments will continue to be made as claims are checked and confirmed, before balance payments begin from mid-December.

The Welsh Government expects all but the most complex claims to be paid in full by the end of March 2027.

Farmers claiming through the Sustainable Farming Scheme will need to update their SFS Universal Dashboard through Rural Payments Wales Online before receiving their remaining balance.

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability Llyr Gruffydd said the payments reaching 90 percent of SFS claimants represented a positive start for the new scheme. He urged farmers still waiting for payments to check their RPW Online accounts in case outstanding queries were delaying their claims.

The payments come during the first year of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which has replaced the previous system of agricultural support inherited from the European Union.

Additional measures introduced following this summer’s dry conditions have included extending the period during which slurry can be spread, temporary changes to some crop and habitat management requirements and grants supporting measures such as boreholes and water-harvesting equipment.