The Department of Agriculture announced on Friday, 15 December, over €14.2m in payments to 15,834 farmers under the National Beef Welfare Scheme. The scheme comprises of two payments – a payment for meal feeding and a payment for herd IBR testing.

The first and larger payment comprises a payment of €35/eligible calf (born from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023) up to a maximum of 40 calves (maximum payment of €1,400), in return for completing the meal-feeding action.

The payment for IBR testing was based on the number of animals in the herd. Payments started at €120, where two to six animals are tested, €180 where seven to 10 animals are tested, €250 where 11 to 15 animals are tested and €300 where 16 to 20 animals are tested.

Where the IBR component of the measure was not completed, then a payment could still be achieved on the meal-feeding component. Note, however, that this meant foregoing the IBR payment plus a 10% penalty on the overall payment, were the two measures completed. The payments are listed as two separate payments on agfood.ie and farmers can quickly see the level of payment for each measure. The IBR payment was often contentious and there is no breakdown as of yet as to the number of participants that completed this measure. As 16,424 farmers signed up to the NBWS, payments will continue as applications are cleared for payment.

€12.32m paid to 2,691 farmers under SIM

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced on Tuesday that payments totalling €12.32m have commenced, issuing to 2,691 farmers under the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM). The scheme which offers payment of €250/ha for barley, oats, rye and wheat, and a lower payment of €150 for oilseed rape straw proved very popular among tillage farmers in 2023.

Over 70,000ha of straw (56,700ha cereal straw and 13,900ha oilseed rape straw) was earmarked for chopping from 3,440 applications. Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue subsequently secured an additional €6m in funding to maintain payment levels and include the full area in the scheme.

The minister said: “This scheme follows on from a successful two-year pilot in operation during 2021 and 2022. In recognition of the value straw incorporation delivers in terms of carbon sequestration, I have provided additional funding in 2023 in support of the increased hectares. This, along with the additional funding provided under the Protein Aid Scheme, clearly underlines my and the Government’s long-term commitment to the tillage sector in Ireland.”

Payments will continue to issue to any outstanding cases. Farmers can submit queries via the Direct Payments Helpline at 057-8674422, via agfood.ie or by email Sim@agriculture.gov.ie

Irish tillage farmers have already exceeded the target set out for straw chopping under the climate action plan. Under that plan, the target is to chop and incorporate 35,000ha of the cereal area by 2025 and 55,000ha of the cereal area by 2030.

€7.3m paid to 2,626 farmers under TIS

Payments totalling €7.3m commenced on Monday to 2,626 farmers under the 2023 Tillage Incentive Scheme (TIS). The scheme was a big hit with farmers in 2022, with €10.98m paid to 3,943 producers.

The lower payment rate in 2023 is primarily due to less land entering tillage and receiving a payment of €400 for each eligible hectare. Reports indicate the main payment in 2023 was €200 for each eligible hectare that was maintained in tillage, following conversion in 2022. The TIS was implemented pursuant to the Temporary Crisis Fund Transition Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia. It is unlikely that the full funding of €10m allocated for 2023 will be utilised under the scheme.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue advised participants that payments may take five days to reach farmers’ bank accounts and added that the Department will continue to process as a matter of urgency all remaining cases. Farmers wishing to contact the Department can ring the Direct Payments Helpline at 057-8674422, or by email to TIS@agriculture.gov.ie.

€6.6m paid under National Liming Programme

Payments are also underway under the National Liming Programme 2023. Announcing the payments, Minster for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said: “In excess of 14,500 farmers submitted payment claims under the Liming Programme by the extended claims deadline of 7 November. To date, over 12,500 applicants have received payments under the Programme, valued at more than €6.6m. Payments will continue as other cases are cleared.”

The 14,500 payment claims amounted to a potential eligible tonnage of 529,000. The level of funding required to cover these claims is €8.5m, just over half of the increased budget allocation of €16m.

The minister added that all fully cleared cases have received their full payment, with the remaining claims receiving an 85% advance. The final 15% balancing payment will issue in 2024 when checks are completed, following the later spreading deadline of March 2024.

Lime suppliers were also reminded by the minister that lime deliveries must now be recorded by the Fertiliser Economic Operator or supplier on the National Fertiliser Database.

“This will facilitate checks on farmers that have forward bought lime for spreading up to the end of March 2024, with minimal administrative burden on farmers and the Department.”