Thousands of farmers will receive a cashflow injection this week as Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments finally issue.

The interim payments are worth a total of €113.6m.

Payments issued at a flat-rate of €5,000 for those participating in ACRES co-operation projects and €4,000 for those who entered the scheme through the general route, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said.

Over 23,700 farmers – more than one in six farmers in the country – will receive a cashflow boost having waited months for their first ACRES cheque to land. This cashflow strain hit the west hardest, with over 17,300 of this week’s payments heading to farmers in western counties.

The minister told the Irish Farmers Journal that all farmers will receive 100% of their payment by June, when balancing payments are issued.

If the interim payment is above the amount farmers are due under the scheme, the payment surplus will be recouped from other scheme payments later in the year.