The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed a further extension to the deadline for the establishment of six arable actions under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
This follows on from a previous extension for these actions that was announced earlier this month, which pushed the deadline back to tomorrow (Saturday, September 30).
However, in a letter to farm advisors dated today (Friday, September 29), the department said that, as a result of persistent adverse weather conditions, a further extension has been granted to the establishment deadline for the six actions.
These actions are (as with the previous extension):
- Catch crops;
- Environmental management of arable fallow (catch crop element only);
- Geese and swans – arable (catch crop element only);
- Grass margins – arable;
- Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments – arable;
- Riparian buffer strips/zones – arable.
Under this latest extension, the deadline for the establishment of these actions is now October 31. The extension applies to 2023 only.
This week, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) warned that farmers “around the country” are still fearful of missing deadlines under ACRES due to challenging weather conditions.
Michael Biggins, the chairperson of the association’s Rural Development Committee, has called on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to show maximum flexibility where farmers are unable to meet their commitments under the scheme due to the weather.
“We are getting calls from farmers around the country, who, because of late sowing and challenging weather conditions, have yet to harvest cereal crops and will likely miss ACRES deadlines as a result,” Biggins said prior to today’s extension confirmation.
Biggins added: “The challenges for those farmers in ACRES should not be compounded by penalties, and partial or no ACRES payment received for non-compliance.
“It’s outside of the farmers’ control and the department needs to show understanding and flexibility here,” the IFA rural development chair said.