There is widespread speculation this Wednesday that the Straw Incorporation Measure could be dropped for 2024.

The payment is worth €250/ha to tillage farmers who chop straw and incorporate it back into the soil.

The payment is worth €150/ha for farmers who chop oilseed rape.

The scheme has been in place since 2021 and the payment provides financial support to tillage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels.

Payments

Payments under the scheme were worth €12.3m to farmers in 2023.

A total of 70,600ha of land was put into the scheme in 2023, 57,000ha of which was cereal ground. Some 3,440 farmers applied for the scheme in their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) last year.

For a farmer with 30ha of cereals, this will mean a loss of €7,500 under the scheme this year. A farmer who has the maximum area of 40ha of cereals under the scheme will lose €10,000.

More to follow.