The annual declaration for the conservation of rare breeds under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) can now be completed for 2024.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that the ACRES Rare Breeds online portal on the AgFood system is now available.

The declaration may be completed by either the ACRES advisor or by the scheme participant themselves.

Under the agri-environmental scheme, payment for this action is made in arrears based on the monthly average livestock units of owned registered animals over the previous recording year.

DAFM said that the payment for the 2024 claim will form part of the 2025 balance payment which is due to issue in the second quarter of 2026.

To make the claim the following will be required:

Proof of membership of the relevant breed society;
Identification documents and certificates issued by the relevant breed society
for each registered animal.

To be eligible for the Conservation of Rare Breeds action, participants must have at least 0.10 Livestock Unit (LU) eligible for payment each year.

A users guide for the submission of this claim through the onlin portal is available on the ACRES web page.

The department will also send a text message to all ACRES participants who have the Conservation of Rare Breeds action approved as part of their ACRES contract.

"Please submit all claims for your ACRES clients with the Rare Breed action as soon as possible and no later than November 15, 2025," DAFM said.