The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is set to impose a maximum stocking density under one of the options for the eco-scheme in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
As Agriland reported in September, the eco-scheme – which will be funded by 25% of Ireland’s Pillar I allocation from the EU – will consist of five options, of which farmers select two.
One of these options relates to extensive livestock production, whereby a farmer will have to keep within a specified maximum overall stocking rate for the calendar year.
A spokesperson for the department has confirmed to Agriland that the proposed maximum stocking density under this option will be “approximately” 1.5 livestock units (LU) per hectare.
Farmers will still have to have a minimum stocking density in line with the new definition of ‘active farmer‘, which will be 0.15LU/ha.
In other words, in order to qualify for this option, the stocking rate over the previous year must fall between a minimum (0.15LU/ha) and a maximum (proposed 1.5LU/ha).
Participants will have to own, possess, hold and maintain the livestock required to meet the minimum density for at least seven consecutive months of the year.
Administrative and on-the-spot checks will be carried out in the year of eco-scheme participation in order to confirm that a farmer (who opts for this action) is staying within the appropriate stocking rate.
As with the minimum stocking rate for the active farmers definition, the department has not yet confirmed if there will be any changes to rules in terms of what types of animals will be deemed to contribute towards an ‘active farmer’, despite calls from some farm organisations to include only cattle and sheep in this definition.
It would appear, though, that for the minimum active farmer stocking density, the current terms of the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme – which include animals other than cattle and sheep – will count towards the broader definition of ‘active farmer’.
This is because the department has confirmed that, where it cannot verify the livestock status of a grassland farmer from its database, a farmer will have to demonstrate that they are engaged in other activities from 2023, including other grazing livestock.
This eco-scheme option is officially termed ‘agricultural practice 2’. As noted above, there are five agricultural practices in the proposed eco-scheme.
The other four are:
- Agricultural practice 1 – Non-productive areas and landscape features (To maintain all habitats present on the farm to contribute to diversity in the landscape);
- Agricultural practice 3 – Limiting chemical nitrogen usage;
- Agricultural practice 4 – Planting of native trees;
- Agricultural practice 5 – Use of GPS controlled fertiliser spreaders to apply chemical fertilisers.
As noted above, farmers will pick two of these five options. Of course, the eco-scheme itself is optional for farmers, but non-participation will cut payments out of Pillar I by 25%, as this is the amount of Pillar I ringfenced to fund the scheme.
A specific rate of payment under the eco-scheme has not been set yet, as this will depend on the rate of uptake among farmers.
However, the department has outlined some possible payment figures in line with different uptake scenarios.
If all eligible farmers (around 129,000 based on 2021 Basic Payment Scheme applications) apply and bring all their eligible land into the scheme, the rate of payment would work out at €63/ha (this is the proposed minimum payment rate). If uptake is only half of this figure, the payment rate would be €126/ha (the proposed maximum payment rate).
The department is working off the assumption that around 85% of eligible farmers will participate. This converts to a payment of €74/ha, which is the proposed rate of payment for the scheme.