Tom Canning president of the Agricultural Consultants Association. \ Claire Nash Advisers facing a busy period of BPS applications are now preparing to take on the added workload of applications for the new €10m agri-environmental scheme. The results-based environment-agri pilot (REAP) opened for application on Wednesday 21 April and closes on Monday 10 May. The dates coincide with the busiest time for advisers submitting BPS applications ahead of its 15 May deadline. Despite some initial concerns, the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) whose members advise 55,000 farmers, has welcomed the pilot. Concerns “This is an exceptionally busy period for our members and we were concerned that other important work would be undermined by the launch of REAP,” ACA president Tom Canning said.