ACRES (Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme) is the buzz word on every farmer’s lips around this part of the world at the minute and I’m sure the rest of the country is the same.

As I was sitting a few weeks back, going through the terms and conditions and contemplating what measures would suit me and my farm best, it struck me how my mind set had changed from five or six or maybe even seven years ago at this stage, when I was looking at what measures would suit me going into the previous GLAS scheme.

Buffer zone

The riparian buffer zone for grassland seems to be the highest per hectare payment at €1,530/ha. A riparian buffer strip or zone can be created adjacent to small streams, surface drains, rivers, lakes or ponds and the objective of the measure is to help protect water quality by intercepting the loss of sediment and nutrients from the soil.

These areas will be taken out of production, therefore reducing nutrient load and supporting biodiversity (according to the spec sheet anyway). But that is the problem, these zones must be taken out of production, the terms and conditions state that the area must be fenced off and stock proof for the duration of the contract to exclude all livestock.

Chemical or organic fertiliser cannot be applied, pesticides and herbicides are not permitted, except for spot treatment of noxious/invasive weeds. Cutting is permitted but cannot take place from 1 March to 31 August.

When I was entering into GLAS, production and efficiency was foremost in my mind. Try to produce as much beef as efficiently and as cheaply as I possibly could.

This involved high stocking rates, good soil fertility, growing plenty of grass and definitely needed every acre of land that was available to me. Not for one second would I have entertained taking land out of production and for want of a better phrase “let it grow wild”. But this time around it doesn’t cause me a second thought.

No brainer

There is no other farm enterprise, except maybe for dairying that would allow me to generate €1,530/ha, so putting this land into a riparian zone, and adjusting stock numbers to match is a no brainer.

If I have changed my mind set, then I’m sure plenty of other farmers will have done the same, so is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m sure the Green Party and many others will say the former and maybe they are correct.

Less stock should mean less emissions and less fertiliser and herbicide will hopefully lead to cleaner water. I won’t get started on the farming versus industry emissions debate, although I will say I think agriculture is getting way more than its fair share of the blame! But less stock will also mean less food and in an ever-expanding global population, where is that going to leave us?