Farmers are making a burst to secure and put up barn owl boxes before the end of July.

For those who selected the measure as part of the ACRES scheme, barn owl boxes must be installed by 31 July 2023, which is three weeks away.

The ACRES measure, which will see a participant farmer receive a payment of €36.48 per barn owl box per year, is aimed at increasing barn owl numbers.

A farm will be paid on a maximum of two boxes.

Farmers who have selected the option must also adopt an integrated pest management approach on their farm to reduce the use and effects of rodenticides with the aim of reducing owl poisonings.

Demand

Software engineer Raymond Self from Bawnboy, Co Cavan, has been making and selling barn owl boxes and said he has seen an increase in farmer buying activity in recent days.

“It’s getting busy now. A lot of farmers have been leaving it last minute to be honest,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Barn owl boxes must be installed in a suitable location.

Self warned that many of the farmers coming to him to buy owl boxes are “very confused” about the specific requirements under the ACRES measure.

“They’re asking me all the questions. They’ve very unsure of the heights, locations, direction and how to put them up.

“People are advertising all sorts of [barn owl box] designs, but there’s only one design allowed,” he said, warning farmers to be cautious with where and how they source the boxes for the scheme.

Requirements

According to the Department of Agriculture, the barn owl boxes installed on farms as part of the ACRES measure must not be situated within 500m of a motorway or dual carriageway and below an altitude of 300m.

The boxes can be installed as interior (within a shed, for example) or exterior (on a tree on the farm).

Ideally, the exterior box would be situated out of prevailing weather conditions, around 4m to 5m off the ground and on a bare trunk so low-hanging branches won’t block the view of the box from any passing owls.

Full specifications for the owl boxes required as part of the ACRES scheme are available here.

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ACRES: the measures which farmers will be paid for