The entry route to the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be governed primarily by a three-tier system where higher scores will be rewarded for farms in Tier 1, followed by Tier 2 and Tier 3. This is explained in detail on pages 20 and 21 of this week’s paper.
The features that govern what tier a farm or ACRES application falls into are predominately set by the location of the farm, its environmental significance or the stocking rate for livestock farms and farm size for arable farms.
There are, however, a number of other factors that can influence whether a farm falls within Tier 1 or 2 that farmers can influence, either before tranche 1 opens for applications in October 2022 or tranche 2 opens for applications in October 2023. These are summarised below, starting with Tier 1 first.
Organic farming
Organic farmers will be awarded Tier 1 access to ACRES. Applicants must be registered and approved as an organic operator by one of the organic control bodies. An applicant must hold an organic licence at the time of application – it is not sufficient to be in the process of obtaining a licence.
There are a number of complex interactions between ACRES and organics to avoid double-funding. Applicants who have commonage on their land must undertake the mandatory commonage action. There is no payment on commonage lands, so this does not interfere with these payment rates.
However, to receive payment on a significant number of measures under ACRES, participants must forego the Organic Farming Scheme payment for that parcel.
Examples of this include area-based measures such as extensively grazed pasture, low-input grassland, low-input peat grassland, management of intensive grassland next to a watercourse, brassica fodder stubble, environmental management of fallow land and other grass margin/riparian measures.
While on the subject for farmers in the Co-Operation Project, non-commonage lands receiving results-based payments are allowed, but the ACRES payment rate will be reduced by €250/ha.
Conservation of rare breeds
To be eligible for the conservation of rare breeds action, an applicant must satisfy the following five criteria:
Be a member of a relevant recognised breed society at time of application and remain a member for the duration of the contract. From at least one of the breeds selected, produce at least one offspring that is registered with the relevant breed society before the end of year three of the contract. Register all progeny from a purebred mating with the relevant breed society when seeking a rare breed payment on an animal. Maintain an up-to-date monthly record of all registered animals owned by you. Have at least 0.1 livestock units (LU) eligible for payment each year.Cattle breeds eligible include the Kerry, Dexter, Irish Maol or Moiled and Droimeann. Horses and ponies include the Connemara Pony, Irish Draught and Kerry Bog Pony, while the Galway breed of sheep are eligible along with the Old Irish Goat breed of goat. The Department says other breeds may be considered in future tranches.
The maximum number of livestock units that can be claimed annually for the cattle, sheep and goat breeds and the Kerry Bog Ponies is 20. The maximum number LU for Connemara and Irish Draught horses that can be claimed for annually is 10. The maximum LU for payment across all breeds is 20.
Payment €200/LU/year
Breeding females that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility requirements will be paid an additional €75 per progeny registered up to the overall maximum payment ceiling.
With regard to cattle, all females between six months and two years will be considered for payment.
Adult females over two years of age must be mated to a purebred bull of the same breed at each mating and breeding females must produce at least one registered offspring before the end of the contract.
All bulls between six months and two years will be considered eligible for payment at a ratio of one bull per five cows.
For equines, all registered females between six months and three years of age will be considered for payment. Requirements are similar for adult females and males, as described previously.
For sheep, females over six months are considered eligible for payment. Adult sheep aged over one year must be mated to a purebred Galway ram and must produce at least two registered offspring. Rams younger than one year are not eligible for payment and a similar ratio of one ram to five ewes applies.
Tree planting
There are three options where farmers can position their application in Tier 2 via tree planting, as follows:
Planting a minimum of 100 trees.Planting trees in riparian buffer zones (minimum 10 trees). Tree belts for ammonia capture from farmyards (min 0.18ha).The payment for planting trees is €6.21/tree/year or €621 annually and €3,105 over the duration of the contract. Trees must be planted by 31 March 2024 and the LPIS parcel or parcels for the tree planting must be outlined at the outset.
Planting 100 trees is said to be a measure being considered by many farmers to improve their chances of getting into ACRES.
Plants must be of Irish origin or Irish provenance and purchased from Department of Agriculture-registered professional operators. All trees must possess a plant passport retained for the duration of the contract.
Trees can be planted in either rows (12m apart), groups (at least 4m spacing with a max area of 0.9ha) or parkland (12m spacing). Trees must be purchased at a minimum of 60cm in height and selected from a list of native species. The Department advises that larger plants of 75cm to 90cm are preferable in a 1.2m tree shelter.
Each tree, with the exception of Scots Pine, must be fitted with a staked tree shelter, with a minimum height of 75cm (exceptions apply if using individual barbed protectors). Trees must be fenced off and grass and competing vegetation must be controlled. Failed trees must be replaced during the subsequent dormant season.
Tree belts
Many of the requirements for tree belts to capture ammonia are similar to tree planting, with regard to the type of tree, planting dates etc. The tree belt must be a minimum of 30m in depth and can be up to 100m, with deeper tree belts capable of capturing more ammonia.
It must have a minimum area of 0.18ha. The maximum area for payment is 0.5ha and a payment of €2,514. The tree belt must be planted on three sides, with conifers at 2m spacing to achieve a thick barrier.
The distance from livestock sheds to the tree belt should be 10m to 20m to allow air to circulate while the orientation of the tree belt and livestock housing should be planned for prevailing wind.
For example, if the prevailing wind is coming from the southwest, the tree belt should be northeast of the building.
Woodland schemes
Applicants who are participating in the Native Woodland Establishment scheme or agro-forestry scheme can apply to ACRES with Tier 2 status. To be considered eligible, an applicant must be a participant in the Native Woodland Establishment Scheme or agroforestry GPC 11 at the time of application.
There is no information in the ACRES specifications regarding what area of ground must be included in these schemes. Teagasc describes GPC 11 – Agro-Forestry as a combination of forestry and pasture. Controlled grazing by sheep and cattle is permitted but trees must be protected. Silage and hay production is also permitted. Trees are planted at a reduced stocking rate per hectare.
Acceptable species include oak, sycamore and cherry (other species will be considered). Teagasc advises that large plants (90cm-120cm) should be used and planting should be carried out using pit planting where possible.
The initial stocking rate should be between 400 and 1,000 trees per hectare equally spaced out and the minimum plot size eligible for grant aid is 0.5ha, while the minimum plot width is listed at 20m.
The grant application for Native Woodland Establishment covers greenfield sites and a grant application for Native Woodland Establishment is made by the forest owner in association with a Native Woodland Scheme-approved registered forester.
The entry route to the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be governed primarily by a three-tier system where higher scores will be rewarded for farms in Tier 1, followed by Tier 2 and Tier 3. This is explained in detail on pages 20 and 21 of this week’s paper.
The features that govern what tier a farm or ACRES application falls into are predominately set by the location of the farm, its environmental significance or the stocking rate for livestock farms and farm size for arable farms.
There are, however, a number of other factors that can influence whether a farm falls within Tier 1 or 2 that farmers can influence, either before tranche 1 opens for applications in October 2022 or tranche 2 opens for applications in October 2023. These are summarised below, starting with Tier 1 first.
Organic farming
Organic farmers will be awarded Tier 1 access to ACRES. Applicants must be registered and approved as an organic operator by one of the organic control bodies. An applicant must hold an organic licence at the time of application – it is not sufficient to be in the process of obtaining a licence.
There are a number of complex interactions between ACRES and organics to avoid double-funding. Applicants who have commonage on their land must undertake the mandatory commonage action. There is no payment on commonage lands, so this does not interfere with these payment rates.
However, to receive payment on a significant number of measures under ACRES, participants must forego the Organic Farming Scheme payment for that parcel.
Examples of this include area-based measures such as extensively grazed pasture, low-input grassland, low-input peat grassland, management of intensive grassland next to a watercourse, brassica fodder stubble, environmental management of fallow land and other grass margin/riparian measures.
While on the subject for farmers in the Co-Operation Project, non-commonage lands receiving results-based payments are allowed, but the ACRES payment rate will be reduced by €250/ha.
Conservation of rare breeds
To be eligible for the conservation of rare breeds action, an applicant must satisfy the following five criteria:
Be a member of a relevant recognised breed society at time of application and remain a member for the duration of the contract. From at least one of the breeds selected, produce at least one offspring that is registered with the relevant breed society before the end of year three of the contract. Register all progeny from a purebred mating with the relevant breed society when seeking a rare breed payment on an animal. Maintain an up-to-date monthly record of all registered animals owned by you. Have at least 0.1 livestock units (LU) eligible for payment each year.Cattle breeds eligible include the Kerry, Dexter, Irish Maol or Moiled and Droimeann. Horses and ponies include the Connemara Pony, Irish Draught and Kerry Bog Pony, while the Galway breed of sheep are eligible along with the Old Irish Goat breed of goat. The Department says other breeds may be considered in future tranches.
The maximum number of livestock units that can be claimed annually for the cattle, sheep and goat breeds and the Kerry Bog Ponies is 20. The maximum number LU for Connemara and Irish Draught horses that can be claimed for annually is 10. The maximum LU for payment across all breeds is 20.
Payment €200/LU/year
Breeding females that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility requirements will be paid an additional €75 per progeny registered up to the overall maximum payment ceiling.
With regard to cattle, all females between six months and two years will be considered for payment.
Adult females over two years of age must be mated to a purebred bull of the same breed at each mating and breeding females must produce at least one registered offspring before the end of the contract.
All bulls between six months and two years will be considered eligible for payment at a ratio of one bull per five cows.
For equines, all registered females between six months and three years of age will be considered for payment. Requirements are similar for adult females and males, as described previously.
For sheep, females over six months are considered eligible for payment. Adult sheep aged over one year must be mated to a purebred Galway ram and must produce at least two registered offspring. Rams younger than one year are not eligible for payment and a similar ratio of one ram to five ewes applies.
Tree planting
There are three options where farmers can position their application in Tier 2 via tree planting, as follows:
Planting a minimum of 100 trees.Planting trees in riparian buffer zones (minimum 10 trees). Tree belts for ammonia capture from farmyards (min 0.18ha).The payment for planting trees is €6.21/tree/year or €621 annually and €3,105 over the duration of the contract. Trees must be planted by 31 March 2024 and the LPIS parcel or parcels for the tree planting must be outlined at the outset.
Planting 100 trees is said to be a measure being considered by many farmers to improve their chances of getting into ACRES.
Plants must be of Irish origin or Irish provenance and purchased from Department of Agriculture-registered professional operators. All trees must possess a plant passport retained for the duration of the contract.
Trees can be planted in either rows (12m apart), groups (at least 4m spacing with a max area of 0.9ha) or parkland (12m spacing). Trees must be purchased at a minimum of 60cm in height and selected from a list of native species. The Department advises that larger plants of 75cm to 90cm are preferable in a 1.2m tree shelter.
Each tree, with the exception of Scots Pine, must be fitted with a staked tree shelter, with a minimum height of 75cm (exceptions apply if using individual barbed protectors). Trees must be fenced off and grass and competing vegetation must be controlled. Failed trees must be replaced during the subsequent dormant season.
Tree belts
Many of the requirements for tree belts to capture ammonia are similar to tree planting, with regard to the type of tree, planting dates etc. The tree belt must be a minimum of 30m in depth and can be up to 100m, with deeper tree belts capable of capturing more ammonia.
It must have a minimum area of 0.18ha. The maximum area for payment is 0.5ha and a payment of €2,514. The tree belt must be planted on three sides, with conifers at 2m spacing to achieve a thick barrier.
The distance from livestock sheds to the tree belt should be 10m to 20m to allow air to circulate while the orientation of the tree belt and livestock housing should be planned for prevailing wind.
For example, if the prevailing wind is coming from the southwest, the tree belt should be northeast of the building.
Woodland schemes
Applicants who are participating in the Native Woodland Establishment scheme or agro-forestry scheme can apply to ACRES with Tier 2 status. To be considered eligible, an applicant must be a participant in the Native Woodland Establishment Scheme or agroforestry GPC 11 at the time of application.
There is no information in the ACRES specifications regarding what area of ground must be included in these schemes. Teagasc describes GPC 11 – Agro-Forestry as a combination of forestry and pasture. Controlled grazing by sheep and cattle is permitted but trees must be protected. Silage and hay production is also permitted. Trees are planted at a reduced stocking rate per hectare.
Acceptable species include oak, sycamore and cherry (other species will be considered). Teagasc advises that large plants (90cm-120cm) should be used and planting should be carried out using pit planting where possible.
The initial stocking rate should be between 400 and 1,000 trees per hectare equally spaced out and the minimum plot size eligible for grant aid is 0.5ha, while the minimum plot width is listed at 20m.
The grant application for Native Woodland Establishment covers greenfield sites and a grant application for Native Woodland Establishment is made by the forest owner in association with a Native Woodland Scheme-approved registered forester.
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