One of the most important things for farmers to do over the coming weeks is to go inside and catch up on their paperwork, as a number of application deadlines for schemes under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are fast approaching.
These include the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), the Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and the Eco-Scheme.
In addition, applications for the recently announced Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme and the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) must also be in soon.
Agriland spoke to president of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) Noel Feeney, about what farmers need to do to ensure they don’t miss out on payments, or cause themselves grief down the line.
Be organised and check your land parcels
First and foremost, Feeney asked farmers to be patient with their agri-advisor or consultant, as the new CAP cycle and associated schemes have created a heavy workload for them.
He advised farmers wishing to meet their advisor in person before the various deadlines, to book in as soon as possible, and ensure that they bring all necessary documents along to their appointment.
This includes coloured maps, that each farmer should have received in the post from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
These identify the land parcels that are part of the farmer’s holding according to data from 2022, however, there could have been changes to the land since they were measured, and the advice is to check this and make a note of any adjustments.
It is very important to study these and identify changes such as houses, buildings, hedges or large areas of scrub, all of which will need to be marked on the map.
For the Space for Nature scheme calculations, it is also important to identify stonewalls and ponds.
Farmers must take this seriously, as the DAFM is ramping up the number of compliance inspections carried out, and satellite imagery systems can also flag up issues.
Feeney also said that farmers who applied to the Agri-Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES), should have received acceptance correspondence over the past week, and said that they should also bring this along to their meeting with their advisor.
Land entitlements
It is important that farmers understand their land entitlements for the purpose of these applications and the various changes that have come into effect.
The previous Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) entitlement is now known as the BISS entitlement, and while the need to have 1ha of eligible area for one entitlement still stands, the value of each one may have shifted.
Entitlement holders should have received correspondence from the department outlining what this value is likely to be over the coming years, as well as what the process is for leasing or transferring them.
The online system for leasing and transferring is currently open and will close at midnight on Monday, May 29, 2023.
Despite this deadline, farmers should not put this process on the back burner said Feeney, who urged people to be organised and complete these changes in good time.
BISS application deadlines
Applications for the BISS, which covers a number of other schemes, are due on May 15, 2023, with the latest date for amendments without a penalty noted as May 31.
The Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) scheme, the Eco-Scheme, the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF), the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM), the Protein Aid Scheme (PAS) and the Area for Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme, all come under BISS applications.
Farmers will need to highlight which of these that they intend to apply for, and identify which land parcel they will allocate to each scheme.
At this point in the process, farmers who applied for ACRES should also be able to view the actions they chose and were approved for on their agfood portal.
In relation to Eco-Scheme applications, farmers can qualify for payment in a couple of ways. They can either choose two out of eight agricultural practices, or a single enhanced agricultural practice which must be applied to all eligible hectares.
Suckler and beef schemes
There are two deadlines to take note of this year when it comes to suckler and beef schemes. The department has announced that applications for the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme must be sent in by May 2, 2023.
Meanwhile, applications for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) must be submitted either by the farmer or an approved FAS advisor by May 22, 2023.
Late application payment deductions will be applied at a rate of 1% per day, and applications made more than 25 days late will not be accepted.