Some farmers on private hill land could struggle to meet the requirement that 4% of ground on which direct payments are made qualifies as space for nature.

The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has urged its members to check whether their holdings meet this 4% threshold.

Under the new CAP farmers must allocate 4% of the ground on which applications for direct payments are made as space for nature in order to qualify for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme, which replaces the old Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

Space for nature, which is covered under GAEC 8, is also a measure available to farmers under the eco-schemes in the new CAP plan.

Features specified as providing space for nature include hedgerows, ditches, drains, trees, stone walls and scrub land.

However, the INHFA pointed out that some holdings could find it difficult to meet the required 4% space for nature threshold due to the absence of the specified features on their farms.

This problem is likely to be particularly acute on private hill lands, but a small number of lowland farms could also be impacted.

“In the vast majority of cases farms are well above the 4% threshold but we are encouraging all farmers to clarify where they stand on the space for nature requirement,” said INHFA president Vincent Roddy.

“If farmers are below the 4% then they should contact us and we can notify the Department [of Agriculture] who have given us a commitment that they will endeavour to resolve any of these issues,” Roddy added.

“The key thing for farmers is that any issues are addressed as soon as possible. Farmers don’t need to be encountering these problems next May when the application deadline is looming,” he added.

Where 4% or more of a holding meets the criteria for space for nature, these farms qualify for BISS. Where farms are between 7% and 10% they satisfy one eco-scheme requirement.

Where the space for nature exceeds 10% then the applicant qualifies for two eco-scheme measures and gets the full eco-scheme payment.