DAFM makes payment and stocking rate calculators available

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has developed a payment calculator and a stocking rate calculator which it says will help inform farmers of the changes in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2023-2027.

The payment calculator allows farmers to calculate their indicative direct payments in 2023, including payment entitlement values.

To complete the payment calculator, farmers will need the following information:

• Number of hectares;
• Number of entitlements;
• Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and greening value per entitlement.

Stocking rate calculator

The stocking rate calculator can be used to calculate stocking rates in terms of livestock unit and kg of organic nitrogen (N) per hectare (ha).

To complete the stocking rate calculator, farmers will need the following information:

• Total area in grassland and tillage which will be farmed in 2022;
• Expected livestock numbers and age per month in 2022.

Step-by-step guides have also been prepared for the calculators and are available on the department’s website.

CAP Strategic Plan

This month, the DAFM is hosting a series of nationwide, in-person public information meetings and an online webinar about Ireland’s draft CAP Strategic Plan.

These public meetings will provide information about changes to direct payments, including entitlements; active farmer checks; agricultural activity and land eligibility changes; stocking rates; eco schemes; details on the new Agri-Environmental Climate Measure (AECM); organic farming; and other important information that farmers need to know now, so that they can best prepare for 2023.