The Irish Farmers Journal understands that approval has been received to increase the level of grant aid funding for eligible investments under the Organic Farming Scheme from 50% to 60%.

The increased level of grant aid will be introduced under the On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme, which will replace the current Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) in January.

Eligible investments under organic production extend well beyond building works and also cover machinery items such as straw choppers, mowers, farmyard manure spreaders etc.

It is expected that the announcement will be made imminently to coincide with the opening of the next tranche of the scheme.

Reports indicate that there is a high level of interest in the scheme, with many advisers reporting that farmers are weighing up the merits of entering the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) against the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), or in some cases, looking at the potential reward for joining both schemes.

Organic certification bodies are advising farmers planning to join the OFS to make contact with them as soon as possible, as registration as an organic operator with an organic certification body is required before joining the scheme.