Rural Payments and Services

The June Agricultural Census is now available for businesses to apply online.

For agents to complete the census, the business’s Responsible Person needs to have specifically mandated the agent to complete the census. There is a separate mandate required for the census, it is not sufficient to have only mandated them for the SAF.

To mandate a representative to complete your census:

• first sign into your RP&S account at www.ruralpayments.org

• select Delegates from the top menu

• select Advisory Firm (or Business Representatives) from the drop-down menu

• for an Advisory Firm, click on the View/maintain link alongside the firm’s name. For a business
representative, click on the appropriate person’s name.

• then click the View/Maintain Mandates button

• scroll down to the Agriculture Census (Ags Census) mandate and click the Add button

• you can add a date for when this mandate will expire, if you wish. Otherwise it will continue until you
remove the mandate

• click on save

If you are an agent, please note that you will not be able to see the census unless your business has specifically mandated you to complete the census as well as the SAF.

To complete the census online:

First sign into your RP&S account at www.ruralpayments.org and click on your business name.

• go to the menu along the top, find the link ‘Ag Census’, and click that

• you’ll then see a list of your holdings. If you have more than one holding, they will all be listed, and you need to do them one at a time

• click on the icon for the holding you want to complete. Then move through the form using the ‘next’ button

• check the details of your holding are correct, if you have any queries you can ring the number or email the address shown

• then begin the census, making sure that you answer all the relevant parts. Use the tab key, not the return key, to move through the questions

• if you don’t complete something fully, a message will tell you that you need to go back and complete a question

• at any time while you’re completing it, you can leave it by returning to the RP&S homepage and then return later to complete it

• when you have answered all the questions, complete the declaration section and submit your form, and that’s it

• after submitting the form, you are taken to a confirmation page where you can download a pdf copy of your form and/or enter your email address to receive a confirmation email (the email does not contain the pdf)

• on return to the census home page, the form will be displayed as ‘submitted’ and cannot be amended. However, the pdf copy may be viewed. If you realise you have entered incorrect data, please phone us on the number shown on your copy of the form

If you have any queries please contact either the Rural Payments and Services Helpline on 0300 300 2222 or email agricsurveys@gov.scot