Area Monitoring System: Everything you need to know

The use of the Area Monitoring System (AMS) to monitor area-based schemes in EU Member States became mandatory on January 1, 2023.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will monitor four schemes using AMS in 2023: The Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC), Protein Aid Scheme (PAS) and Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM).

AMS findings may impact payments on other area-based schemes e.g. Eco- Scheme, Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF).

What is the AMS and how does it work?

The AMS is the observation and assessment of agricultural activities and practices on agricultural areas by Copernicus Sentinel satellite data.

Copernicus Sentinel Satellite data is gathered automatically every five days and is stored to provide up-to-date information as required. The data is open-source, meaning that it is free to everyone to obtain and to view.

The AMS interprets this satellite imagery to provide decisions on agricultural activity on land parcels using computer algorithms – for example if grazing or mowing have taken place or if a crop has been established.

The AMS will also use geotagged photographs using a DAFM-developed app called AgriSnap to verify crop(s) declared. Geotagged photographs contain the GPS location co-ordinates of where the photo was captured.

Follow up checks on the ground by an inspector may also be used if further clarification is required.

Parcels monitored by AMS will have colour-coded results when presented to scheme applicants; Green, Yellow or Red.

Green parcels are compliant with the parcel declaration on the applicants 2023 BISS application and will be processed for payment.

Yellow parcels require further AMS processing but do not require input from the applicant and will be paid on.

Red parcels indicate that a potential non-compliance has been detected and payment will be withheld until the issue is resolved.

This may be due to:

Presence of an ineligible feature, in particular a permanent structure e.g. a house, farm roadway or farm building;
Difference in crop category (arable land, permanent crop or permanent grassland) declared and AMS finding e.g. Spring Barley declared on 2023 BISS application, but a different crop was predicted by AMS;
Presence of ineligible land use e.g. ineligible crop type for the scheme

What does it mean for farmers?

AMS will monitor 100% of land parcels declared in an applicant’s 2023 BISS application. This is a change from the previous 5% of herds selected for land eligibility inspections, but it does mean that all applicants are monitored and that applicants have more control over the outcome.

There are significant benefits:

Applicants are notified of potential errors in land parcels and are given an opportunity to address these in the timeframe outlined;
Addressing potential errors identified may lead to a reduction in the number of penalties;
The increased use of satellite imagery will reduce the number of on farm inspections.

AMS notifications and timelines

Applicants and their authorised FAS advisor will be notified of red parcels via agfood.ie. Only applicants with red parcels will receive a notification.

Where an applicant is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BISS account.

Go to www.agriculture.gov.ie/contactsupdates to register for text messages.

The first round of AMS notifications issued to applicants on June 26, 2023. These notifications are for the potential presence of artificial surfaces e.g. buildings, farmyard extensions and farm roadways, in land parcel(s).

Further notifications will issue to applicants in mid-August and mid-September, with a deadline for reply of October 2, 2023. These notifications will be for potential differences in crop categories to those claimed by the applicant and may include further artificial surfaces.

Applicants with an AMS notification have the option to withdraw, partially withdraw or amend the aid application up to October 2, 2023 without incurring a penalty.

The last round of AMS notifications will be mid-October for differences in crop categories and ineligible land uses on the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) and Protein Aid Scheme (PAS) parcels only. The deadline for reply to these notifications is November 16, 2023.

It is an advantage to all applicants to respond to AMS notifications and answer follow up AgriSnap requests promptly, as failure to respond may result in a delay or reduced payments in any area-based scheme in 2023.

What to do with an AMS notification?

When an AMS notification/text message alert is received, the applicant should respond by the required deadline by following these steps:

Applicants who have applied through a FAS-approved advisor, should contact their advisor in relation to responding to the AMS notification by the deadline provided;
Log into agfood.ie online account to read the notification on the AMS Screen;
Access to view the map of the parcel is available through the view map icon;
Applicants have the option to agree or disagree with the AMS findings;
Applicants will be issued with AgriSnap requests, if they disagree with an artificial surface finding or if they agree or disagree with potential differences in crop categories.

A step-by-step guide is available here.