THOUSANDS of Single Farm Payment application forms are still outstanding as Monday's deadline rapidly approaches.

The Rural Payments Agency office in Northallerton is staying open all weekend - 8.30-5pm - for farmers to deliver the forms by hand. The office covers one-third of the country but, by Tuesday evening, had received only 15,000 of the 40,000 forms expected.

"We fully expect 15,000 forms to come in over the rest of the week," said Chris Armitage, head of the centre, on Wednesday.

Nationally, only 50,000 of the expected 140,000 applications had been returned. Although applications can still be made until June 10, there will be a 4pc financial penalty for every working day beyond Monday.

"You can very quickly look at a substantial penalty," said Mr Armitage, "We urge farmers to get their applications in this weekend."

Traditionally, farmers always leave forms and applications until the last minute. "It is normal for us to receive between 60 and 80 per cent during the last week or so of any deadline, so we are geared up to receive a last minute rush," said Mr Armitage.

He stressed that farmers could hand the farms in personally at the centre in Crosby Road, Northallerton, or post them. If posting, he advised the applicant to get a receipt from the post office as proof of postage in case it went astray in the mail.

He also advised all applicants to keep a copy of their application so that, if there were queries, both they and the RPA could have the form in front of them.

Fresh forms are available from the centre or can be downloaded from the RPA web site at www.rpa.gov.uk.

The RPA's national helpline for specific questions relating to applications is available on 0845 603 7777.

The initial number of calls took organisers by surprise and problems were experienced, but the line now has 400 staff working seven days a week.

On Tuesday they handled more than 9,000 calls nationally, with only 57 being lost.

Some farmers have received forms marked to be returned to other centres, such as Exeter, but Mr Armitage stressed they need only to get it to the local centre, such as Northallerton.

* The NFU this week warned of disarray threatening to derail farmers' efforts to sign up to the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme.

The first deadline for applications is May 31, but farmers are reporting extreme difficulties in completing applications, owing to Defra computer problems.

Laurie Norris, NFU environment and land use adviser, said the application process for the Entry Level programme of the ESS was supposed to be easy, but the insistence that all land must be registered with the Rural Land Register had caused problems because of delays in issuing the maps farmers needed to make their application.

"Then there is the issue of the on-line facility; that is already supposed to be up and running but will not now, we hear, be operational until July," said Miss Norris.

The NFU has written to Defra asking for more staff to be devoted to land registration and for the removal of the need for land to be registered before an application to the ESS can be made.