The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed almost 116,000 scorecards for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) were submitted by the deadline of August 31.

The department said that as of September 1, 115,990 scorecards were returned for the 2025 scheme year.

89,642 scorecards were in respect of the assessment of lands belonging to participants in the ACRES Co-Operation (CP) approach.

The remaining 26,348 scorecards were in relation to the results-based actions on parcels under the ACRES General approach.

The department is encouraging ACRES advisors and farmers to ensure that any outstanding scorecards that are to be considered for payment are returned as soon as possible.

"Any delays in submitting scorecards may result in a delay in processing the 2025 advance payment for the participant concerned, with those advance payments scheduled to commence in November 2025," a DAFM spokesperson told Agriland.

"While some 125,000 scorecards were issued in June 2025, not all of them may ultimately be returned as participants in the ACRES Co-operation approach may choose not to get leased or rented land assessed and scored, while it may be the case that some land was not assessed as it could not be accessed due to health and safety reasons.

"In the latter case, ACRES advisors are required to notify the department if a scorecard is not being submitted for this reason," the spokesperson added.