An agri-consultant based in the midlands has urged farmers to avail of the Agri-Environment Training Scheme (AETS) day, which is currently available.

Speaking to Agriland, Paul Belton of Midland Agri-Consultants outlined that the amount payable to a farmer who satisfactorily attends an AETS course is €156.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the AETS is a voluntary training scheme that is open to all farmers who submit a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application. A farmer may only attend one training course during the lifetime of the scheme.

The scheme aims to:

  • Train farmers in environmental practices and standards;
  • Encourage and help farmers to take part in future agri-environment schemes;
  • Promote awareness on the importance of farm safety.

The courses under the scheme are organised and given by trainers approved by the DAFM for this particular scheme.

Attendance at the course is voluntary and it is not a requirement to have attended the course for any other scheme run by the DAFM.

In order to attend, a farmer must complete a ‘Questionnaire for participants’ beforehand and then give this to the AETS trainer at the start of the course.

A list of approved AETS trainers, and their contact details, is available on the department’s website.

Farmers who satisfactorily attend the scheme will be eligible for a payment of €156. This amount is paid to the AETS trainer who runs the course and he/she will then pay each farmer who satisfactorily attends the full course.

The AETS trainer is then paid a fee of €90 in respect of each farmer who attends the course.

Belton, who is an agri-consultant based in Granard, Co. Longford, urged farmers to book a date for the course saying “there are days available to suit all farmers”.

He outlined that the event will run for “approximately six hours” and noted lunch will be provided to attendees at the Midland Agri-Consultants’ series of farm walks which are getting underway in Bunlahy, Co. Longford.

Continuing, Belton outlined: “In the first half of the day, farmers will hear about all the new schemes that are coming up and the second half of the day, we will visit a farm to see some of the measures that will be required for eco-schemes.

Farmers will see measures such as copping hedgerows, incorporating clover, fencing water courses and management practices associated with lakes, blanket bog, forestry, monuments and all the low-input grasslands as well as intensive grasslands.

He added that advisors from Midland Agri-Consultants will be speaking at the events as well as a representative from Longford County Council who will be offering advice on managing invasive species.

Concluding, he noted that Midland Agri-Consultants have 40 more courses running and said “farmers do not have to be a client of ours to avail of the courses”.