Here are some key dates to highlight in your 2024 calendar, as payments under a variety of schemes will begin issuing to farmers by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Firstly the deadline for tranche 2 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) was extended until January 19, 2024.
Tranche 3 of the scheme will open on Monday, December 18 and close on Friday, April 12, 2024 at close of business.
Included among the eligible investments under TAMS 3 are calving pen areas; slatted and cubicle areas over tanks; robotic slurry scrapers; silage effluent tank and computerised calf feeders.
The deadline for the 2024 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector is January 10.
The minimum investment which will be considered for grant aid is €10,000 excluding VAT, except in the case of beekeeping where a minimum investment of €2,000 excluding VAT applies.
The upper cumulative limit, per applicant, for investments under the scheme over the period 2023-2027 is €5m.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said that he made a “commitment” to farmers and representatives that the advance Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payment will revert to its previous earlier date of mid-September in 2024.
The minister also said that payments under Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and the eco-scheme will return to original dates for issuing in the second half of October 2024.
Balancing payments
A total of €76.5 million is now being paid to more than 17,000 Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) general participants.
Balancing payments amounting to 15% of the annual payment for ACRES will be paid to farmers in May 2024.
From 2024, ACRES is to receive €200 million in funding. This represents an increase of €40 million.
The additional funding means that 50,000 farmers may participate in the programme under the first two tranches in the year ahead.
Under the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), €33 million has commenced issuing.
Balancing payments amounting to 15% of the OFS are expected to be made in spring 2024.
Also, 15% of balancing payments are due in May 2024 for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS), after farmers began receiving advance payments on November 20 2023.
Budget 2024 reminder
Following the announcement of Budget 2024, there are plenty of new payments to watch out for.
Additional supports have been announced for the sheep sector, bringing the payment per ewe from €12/ewe in 2023 to €20/ewe in 2024.
It has not been determined yet what actions farmers will have to take to avail of this additional €8/ewe of funding in comparison to the Sheep Improvement Scheme.
The department will continue to provide the €200 per cow payment delivered in 2023.
Following the successful initial phase of the soil sampling scheme, the minister will open another period to avail.
The department will analyse up to 90,000 samples over the next 12 to 18 months.
An extension will also be in place for consanguinity relief, which supports the transfer of farms one generation to the next.
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said that consanguinity relief on stamp duty would be extended for five years.