Just 1,500 completed farm improvement plans have been submitted by farmers under the Knowledge Transfer (KT) Programme, as the 31 July deadline approaches.

This leaves 18,500 farmers and their KT group facilitators still to submit complete applications for almost €14m in KT payments.

Some 20,000 farmers will receive an annual payment of €750 for attending discussion group meetings and submitting a farm improvement plan that incorporates an animal health measure.

A Department of Agriculture spokesperson said: “Approximately 1,500 farm improvement plans have been fully completed, with another 7,000 in progress.

Facilitators have been reminded that the deadline of 31 July is fast approaching.

The KT online system has been plagued by problems, with some of the portals not available for weeks and months at a time.

KT group facilitators have blamed “an incomplete system” as the reason for a large number of farm improvement plans being incomplete.

The original KT deadline of 31 May was extended by two months following appeals by Teagasc and the Agricultural Consultants Association.

Now vets and farmers are being urged to complete the essential animal health measures before 31 July.

“To date, animal health measures for over 2,000 farmers have been submitted, while simultaneously work is under way in DAFM to register associations between other farmers and their chosen vet,” said the Department spokesperson.

“Farmer and vets participating in the KT Programme are advised to take immediate steps to register their association and avoid reduced payments.”

It is believed some farmers have left it late to complete their animal health measure with their vets.

KT meetings

While farmers are required to attend a minimum of five meetings per year under the KT Programme, the Department could not confirm how many farmers have met this requirement.

A spokesperson said “over 6,000 KT meetings have been held to date”, adding that “meeting attendance is subject to routine audit checks and validations and meetings are permitted up to the 31 July deadline.”

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