Balancing payments to farmers under the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme have commenced, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced.

Over 55,000 farmers will receive the payments, which are worth around €18.5m.

“These payments, along with the advance payments issued in December 2022, will further assist farmers that have had to content with increased agricultural input costs, in particular chemical fertiliser, and the impact that had on the quantity of fodder produced and conserved over the last year,” he said.

The 2023 Fodder Support Scheme was a continuance of the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme and aimed to incentivise farmers, in particular drystock farmers, to grow more silage and/or hay in 2023 to ensure Ireland does not have any animal welfare issues over the winter period. Only successful applicants for the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme were eligible to apply for the 2023 scheme when it was open in November and December 2022.

Additional funding

“The initial budget for the Fodder Support Scheme was €30m, with an overall payment rate of up to €100 per hectare.

"I committed to continue monitoring the situation around the price of agricultural inputs into 2023 and, if they remained high, to seek additional funding for this scheme.

“In keeping with that commitment, I have secured €23m of additional funding, which brings the overall budget for the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme to €53m.”

The Minister encouraged any farmers in the 2023 scheme with outstanding requests for documentation from his Department to respond promptly to ensure no further delay to their balancing payments.

Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and the Department will continue to process all remaining cases for payments as they meet scheme criteria.

The Minister encouraged any farmers with queries in relation to the scheme to direct them by email to fss@agriculture.gov.ie.