The Department of Agriculture has published the final specifications and terms and conditions for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

This article reviews the marking system for the ACRES general entry route.

The terms and conditions put weight behind previous commentary from the Department and advisers citing that applications which fall into Tier 1 and Tier 2 will have a much better chance of gaining entry over applications that fall under the Tier 3 entry route.

Prospective applicants can receive marks from three sections – Section A, Section B and Section C. Section A is applicable to Tier 1 measures, Section B is applicable to Tier 2 and there is no markings awarded to measures under Tier 3.

The only markings available to applicants under this entry route is detailed in Table 3, which is discussed later in the article. This is also open to applicants in Tier 1 and Tier 2.

Tier 1

Tier 1 actions, explained in the table below, will all receive 10,000 marks, provided farmers commit to undertaking a mandatory action where relevant.

This is double the level of marks available for any action in Tier 1 and shows just how far ahead this entry route is being prioritised.

Tier 2 selection and ranking

It is pretty clear that eligible actions in Tier 1 are almost certain to gain entry in this year’s tranche.

Farmers in Tier 2 will be keen to learn of the marking system under this tier, as if the scheme is oversubscribed, these marks are likely to come into play.

Marks available under the different measures range from 4,500 marks to 5,500 marks. The highest marking of 5,500 marks applies to the vulnerable water area action.

The whole farm stocking rate exceeding 130kg organic nitrogen or arable farms with a holding greater than 30ha are next up with a score of 5,000 marks.

This leaves the four tree-related options at the lower end of priority in Tier 2, with marks of 4,500 available.

Again, the markings across these measures are dependent on a mandatory action being selected.

Applicants can only receive marks for one measure and there is no differentiation in scoring between the mandatory action selected in individual measures.

No priority for Tier 3

As touched on earlier in the article, there are no marks applicable to measures farmers select under the Tier 3 entry route.

The only marks available are contained in Section C, which is also applicable to applicants who enter under Tier 1 and Tier 2.

There will also be marks awarded for whether or not the applicant was previously in GLAS, REAP or AEOS and also depending on the size of the holding.