The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will provide farmers with the opportunity to extend the deadline for planting wild bird cover under the Green, Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS), Agriland understands.
Under this extension, participants will be able to contact the department directly to request an extension in relation to the planting requirements for the ‘Wild Bird Cover’ action for this year.
It is understood that these requests will be examined on a case-by-case basis. Participants will be able to make the request by emailing the GLAS Division of the department.
There has been recent calls for an extension to be granted in light of the spell of heavy rain at the end of May.
Just last week, independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice said: “Listening to farmers on the ground, there are still quite a number of wild bird covers yet to be established.
“Heavy rain over the past month has prevented some farmers getting in to plough land and sow their wild bird covers, due to ground being waterlogged,” the Roscommon-Galway TD highlighted.
Fitzmaurice had urged Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue to grant the extension in light of the weather and ground conditions.
“In some areas you can hardly walk on the land, never mind bring in a tractor and plough,” the TD had noted.