Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. today announced that the review of TAMS reference costs has been finalised and the changes proposed have been implemented from the opening of Tranche 23 on 24 July 2021. This review was based on a detailed analysis of the costs of completed works up to end-March 2021.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D, today reminded BEAM participants that the option to choose the alternative BEAM reduction period of 1st January 2021 to the 31st December 2021 closes on Monday 21st June 2021.

The current reduction period is 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021. However, as a result of COVID-19 and the impact it could have on some farmers meeting their 5% bovine Nitrates reduction requirement, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine wrote to the European Commission in January 2021 seeking an extension of the reduction period.

What the Sheep Welfare Scheme is

The Sheep Welfare Scheme provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve the welfare of their flock. Farmers get €10 per breeding ewe for completing flock welfare measures.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced that the 2020 advance payments under the Green Low-Carbon Agri Environment Scheme (GLAS) will commence this week which is two weeks ahead of schedule. €138 million will arrive in almost 40,000 GLAS farmers’ bank accounts this week.

To further increase economic and environmental efficiency in the suckler herd through better quality data on herd performance, supporting decision making on farm and support of best practice in welfare management

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What does it involve and who is eligible?

• The programme is open to all suckler beef farmers who commit to completing the mandatory action required within the duration of the programme, optional welfare enhancement actions are also available for additional support.
• Payment will be on beef breed (dam and sire) animals born in the herd between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.
• Applications open on agfood.ie until 15 May 2020.

The Minister stated “I was delighted to secure funding for a number of new supports for farmers in this year’s budget.  As my Department rolls out these exciting new  initiatives such as the Programme of Farmer Training on Health and Safety, Agri-Environment Measures such as Biodiversity training for farmers and on-farm Biodiversity studies,  the  National Soil Sampling Programme, a new results-based Pilot project and new supports for the tillage sector, I  expect that the provision of high quality professional advice will have a key role to play. Similarly, as we prepare for the introduction of a new Common Agricultural Policy to help the sector respond to environmental and economic and social challenges, providing agricultural consultants with the most up to date information available will be a central element of our approach.”

The Minister confirmed that his Department will shortly be consulting with the relevant stakeholders regarding of the design and delivery of the training.

Minister McConalogue Announces Advance Payments of €781 million under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (including Greening).

The Minister said, “I am happy to confirm that that advance payments under the BPS, worth €781 million to 118,000 farmers, have commenced today. These payments are a vital support for farmers across the country and contribute greatly to maximising income and cashflow in the sector in what has been a very challenging year for farmers.”

The Minister continued, “A key priority for my Department is the efficient issuing of scheme payments to farmers.  The BPS advance payment is commencing today at the earliest date possible under EU Regulations.  The payment is set at a rate of 70%, which is an increase on the 50% normally allowed under regulation.”

The Minister also commented that “compared to the advance payments made at this stage last year, an additional 3,500 farmers have received an advance payment in the first run of payments this year.  This represents an additional €34 million.  In all, some 97 % of eligible applicants for the 2020 BPS are receiving their advance payment at the earliest date possible.”

Payments under the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) which started in September are also continuing as more cases are cleared for payment.  The Minister added that “the advance BPS payment and the advance ANC payments taken together mean that some €974 million has now issued to Irish farmers in the last month.”

In order to facilitate farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding their BPS or ANC payments, extended hours are in place for the Direct Payments Helpline.  From Monday the 19^th of October to Friday the 23^rd of October, the Helpdesk will be available to answer farmers queries up to 8.30pm each evening. Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 076 106 4420.  Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.

 In conclusion the Minister stated “given the central importance of the many schemes currently in place, my Department has recently written to all farmers outlining the payment schedule over the coming months for these schemes. I am committed to ensuring that these payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible to ensure that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner.

With this in mind, regular pay runs will be in place over the coming weeks to pay BPS and ANC cases as they become cleared for payment.  Farmers who have been contacted by my Department with queries in relation to their applications should also respond at their earliest convenience in order to facilitate payment.” 

The Minister stated “I was delighted to secure funding for a number of new supports for farmers in this year’s budget.  As my Department rolls out these exciting new  initiatives such as the Programme of Farmer Training on Health and Safety, Agri-Environment Measures such as Biodiversity training for farmers and on-farm Biodiversity studies,  the  National Soil Sampling Programme, a new results-based Pilot project and new supports for the tillage sector, I  expect that the provision of high quality professional advice will have a key role to play. Similarly, as we prepare for the introduction of a new Common Agricultural Policy to help the sector respond to environmental and economic and social challenges, providing agricultural consultants with the most up to date information available will be a central element of our approach.”

The Minister confirmed that his Department will shortly be consulting with the relevant stakeholders regarding of the design and delivery of the training.

Minister McConalogue Announces Advance Payments of €781 million under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (including Greening).

The Minister said, “I am happy to confirm that that advance payments under the BPS, worth €781 million to 118,000 farmers, have commenced today. These payments are a vital support for farmers across the country and contribute greatly to maximising income and cashflow in the sector in what has been a very challenging year for farmers.”

The Minister continued, “A key priority for my Department is the efficient issuing of scheme payments to farmers.  The BPS advance payment is commencing today at the earliest date possible under EU Regulations.  The payment is set at a rate of 70%, which is an increase on the 50% normally allowed under regulation.”

The Minister also commented that “compared to the advance payments made at this stage last year, an additional 3,500 farmers have received an advance payment in the first run of payments this year.  This represents an additional €34 million.  In all, some 97 % of eligible applicants for the 2020 BPS are receiving their advance payment at the earliest date possible.”

Payments under the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) which started in September are also continuing as more cases are cleared for payment.  The Minister added that “the advance BPS payment and the advance ANC payments taken together mean that some €974 million has now issued to Irish farmers in the last month.”

In order to facilitate farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding their BPS or ANC payments, extended hours are in place for the Direct Payments Helpline.  From Monday the 19^th of October to Friday the 23^rd of October, the Helpdesk will be available to answer farmers queries up to 8.30pm each evening. Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 076 106 4420.  Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.

 In conclusion the Minister stated “given the central importance of the many schemes currently in place, my Department has recently written to all farmers outlining the payment schedule over the coming months for these schemes. I am committed to ensuring that these payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible to ensure that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner.

With this in mind, regular pay runs will be in place over the coming weeks to pay BPS and ANC cases as they become cleared for payment.  Farmers who have been contacted by my Department with queries in relation to their applications should also respond at their earliest convenience in order to facilitate payment.” 

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has written to all Young Farmer Scheme applicants with some helpful advice on how to meet the scheme terms and conditions and avoid inspection penalties. All applicants will receive the letter via their AgFood account. A webinar is organised to coincide with this letter for Tuesday 13^th October.

The Young Farmers Scheme (YFS) was introduced in 2015 as a top-up to the Basic Payment Scheme.  It is accepted that the creation and development of a new farm business is financially challenging and this payment is intended as an income support to young farmers starting  their agricultural activities to facilitate the initial establishment of the farm business.

A young farmer is eligible to apply if he/she is no more than 40 years of age in the first year of application, has attained a minimum level of agricultural education and is in financial and managerial control of the holding. The Young Farmer Scheme can be paid for a maximum of five years. The detailed eligibility requirements are set out in the Terms and Conditions of the scheme which are available at the following link:  www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/farmingschemesandpayments/capentitlementsrelatedapplicationforms/2020nryf/2020NRandYFSTermsandConditions.pdf

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (with responsibility for Farm Safety), Martin Heydon T.D. and Chief Executive Officer of the Health and Safety Authority, Dr Sharon McGuinness, today jointly launched an on-line Tractor Safety Awareness Training Course, in conjunction with the Irish Farmers Journal. 

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., today announced that payments worth €185 million million under the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme have commenced issuing this week to 86,000 farmers

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dara Calleary T.D., today announced the opening of the Beef Finisher Payment (BFP). The scheme is a one off, exchequer funded grant aid scheme under the Covid19 State Aid Temporary Framework with funding totalling €50M. The objective of BFP is to provide support for beef finishing farms in Ireland which have been severely impacted by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dara Calleary T.D., today announced details of the Beef Finishers Payment (BFP), an Exchequer funded scheme of €50 million to provide income support for up to 42,000 farmers with beef finishing enterprises, who have been impacted by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister Calleary stated “I am fully aware of the difficulties caused by Covid-19 in the Irish beef sector and the consequences for those in beef farming and for the rural economy as a whole. Farmers with finished animals suffered from both reduced prices and other restrictions in getting animals to market. The closure of the food service market in Ireland, the UK and beyond has had a dramatic impact on the industry and in particular those who supply it to make their living.”

This Circular extends the submission date of the 2019 Rare Breed declaration form & record sheet along with the required documentation from the 31st May 2020 to the 31st July 2020 in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Any farmer that is getting paid in GLAS for keeping rare breeds must ensure that their paperwork for 2019 is submitted before the 31^st of July 2020. This is an extension to the original submission date and it won’t be extended again.

If you don’t have your paperwork submitted by this date you will be rejected from this action in GLAS plan and all money that was received by the farmer under this measure will be recouped in full.

This situation can get even worse if this action was the action that was used to gain a farmer entry into the scheme then the farmer will also be rejected out of the GLAS scheme. This will result in a total clawback of all money received in the GLAS scheme.

Obligations of the Programme

There are a number of actions in the Programme, with action one being compulsory.

Applicants then also have the option to choose action 2, and/or action3.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently processing applications for the 2020 Basic Payment Schemes.  As in previous years, this can entail queries being sent to farmers in order to complete their applications for payment.   The Department would like to remind farmers to respond promptly to any notifications they receive regarding their application. A prompt response helps the Department to progress these issues in advance of the October 16^th payment date.

In previous years, all such query notifications issued by post.  However, in 2020 a certain number of query notifications will only be issued via email to a farmer’s approved agricultural advisor or by text message to farmers who have signed up to the Department’s SMS service. Those not signed up or who have not authorised an advisor will continue to receive postal notifications. This change will help to ensure BPS applications can be processed in an efficient manner as the Department continues to respond to Covid-19 related restrictions.

Should a farmer receive such a notification, full details can be accessed on the agfood.ie system used for applying for BPS.  Farmers who wish to contact the Department in relation to a notification can do so by ringing the Direct Payments Helpline at 076 106 4420 where a member of staff can advise on the matter.  Where a query is not responded to, any follow up query will issue by post.

This money was deducted from their 2018 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments under the Financial Discipline rule, and is now being reimbursed in line with the EU regulations.

Minister Creed said ‘‘I am pleased to confirm that these payments are now being reimbursed to eligible farmers.”  The Minister added that “these payments will bring the total paid to Irish farmers under the 2019 Basic Payment Scheme to over €1.192 billion.”

In the context of the annual budgetary procedure of the European Union, the financial discipline mechanism which is implemented by the Member States involves a monetary deduction (1.4% for the 2018 reduction) from some direct payments thereby creating a financial Crisis Reserve for the European Union. The crisis reserve is intended to provide additional support for the agricultural sector in the case of major crises affecting agricultural production or distribution. In the event that the Crisis Reserve is not activated in the financial year, or it is not fully utilised, the unused balance is refunded to farmers in the subsequent financial year.