The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has released further information about the new scheme for baling straw this year.
The department said that the scheme, which will be known as the Baling Assistance Payment (BAP) 2024, is being provided as an additional measure to bolster fodder supplies.
It will run in tandem with the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) for tillage farmers.
The department said that this BAP payment will allow farmers the flexibility to choose whether to receive funding by chopping straw under SIM or by baling it under the new scheme.
Straw
DAFM said that any 2024 eligible SIM participant can apply for the payment and information on how to apply will issue to all SIM applicants shortly.
The payment rate under the new scheme is set at €175/ha for eligible parcels withdrawn from the SIM scheme where the straw has been baled.
According to the department, it is anticipated that payments will issue in the first quarter of next year.
Farmers can only receive this payment for areas declared on their SIM 2024 application and cannot receive both payments on any hectare.
DAFM
SIM applicants will be required to notify DAFM in writing of their wish to withdraw SIM eligible parcel(s) at which point they will be provided the option to apply for the BAP.
An application form for BAP, along with terms and conditions, will be issued directly to the SIM applicant once they have informed the department of a SIM parcel withdrawal.
The department said that all eligible crops on parcels applied on for BAP, must be harvested and the straw baled.
Applicants must provide geotagged photos of the baled straw in the parcel(s) under which they are applying for BAP.
The department said that the minimum eligible area for a BAP application will be 1 ha up to a maximum of the SIM 40ha limit.
Applicants will be subject to the individual state aid limit of €20,000 as set out in EU Commission regulations
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, announced the new baling scheme last week along with a u-turn on his controversial proposal to suspend the SIM this year.