The annual declaration for the conservation of rare breeds under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) can now be completed for 2025.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that the action may now be completed from today (Monday, September 7) on the ACRES Rare Breeds online portal on the AgFood system.

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

Payment

DAFM said that as stated in the ACRES specifications, payment for this action is made in arrears based on the monthly average livestock units of owned registered animals over the previous recording year.

The payment for the 2025 claim will form part of the 2026 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.

The department said it will also send a text to all ACRES participants who have the Conservation of Rare Breeds action approved as part of their ACRES contract to advise them that the Rare Breeds portal is now available. 

Non-productive investments

Participants of the ACRES Co-operation Approach are reminded that the application window for non-productive investments (NPI) 2026 annual work plans (AWPs) is open until October 14, 2026.

DAFM said it should be noted that for tranche 1 participants, those whose contracts began on January 1, 2023, this will be the last opportunity to apply for NPIs during their contracts which will expire on December 31, 2027.ACRES advisors may complete and submit NPI AWPs through the Generic Land Management (GLAM) mapping system maintained by DAFM and accessible through MyAgfood.

DAFM noted that only one NPI AWP may be submitted for an ACRES Co-operation participant in this application window. 

The NPI AWP and application may be only amended at draft stage. Once submitted, it will not be possible to amend further.