With the deadline approaching on Friday, October 23 to ensure you have all the correct sales data on the National Fertiliser Database, we have listed some criteria below which you should be aware of.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon recently announced the EU Fertiliser Exceptional Aid Scheme.

The scheme provides €46.2 million of funding to farmers in respect of increased fertiliser prices arising from the Middle East crisis, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said.

It is a targeted income support in that the support is calculated on basis of fertiliser purchases recorded for the period from September 15, 2024 to September 14, 2025.

Support for those farmers who entered farming in 2026 (new entrants) will be calculated on the basis of fertiliser purchasesrecorded for the period from September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026.

DAFM has provided further information about scheme key dates, eligibility and payments.

Who is eligible for the scheme?

Farmers and other agricultural producers who meet the conditions of the scheme may qualify for support.

To be eligible for support, you must:

Have submitted a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2026 and deemed to be an active farmer in 2026;
Have been registered on the National Fertiliser Database (NFD) for the period on which the calculations are going to be based;
Have complied with all requirements as regards the recording of fertiliser purchases on the NFD in respect of the relevant eligibility period;
Have eligible fertiliser purchases recorded on the NFD for the relevant reference period that meet the minimum qualifying threshold under the scheme.

If you began farming in 2026, have submitted a BISS application in 2026 and are deemed an active farmer, your fertiliser purchases as declared on the NFD will be used, for the purposes of this scheme, to determine eligibility.

Fertiliser purchases recorded on the NFD for that period would still have to meet the minimum qualifying threshold (2.5t) under the scheme.

Farmers in a farm partnership registered with the department may be eligible where they meet the conditions of the scheme.

Where a farmer has more than one herd number, DAFM said it will carry out internal checks to ensure that the correct payment is applied per farmer rather than per herd number and that duplicate payments are avoided.

What is the NFD?

The NFD is an online system established by the DAFM.

The aim of the database is to better record the sale of fertiliser and lime in the country and to do so as easily as possible.

Once registered, purchases of fertiliser by an end user, such as by a farmer, will be automatically recorded.

All fertiliser transactions along the supply chain must be recorded.

For most eligible farmers, no additional evidence of fertiliser purchases will be required for the scheme, as DAFM will use information already available on the NFD.

The department said it may, however, seek additional information where necessary to verify eligibility or the information used tocalculate payment.

Do I need to apply for the scheme?

There is no application process as eligibility for the scheme will be determined by fertiliser purchases, as recorded on the NFD.

A 'reconciliation period' from October 13, 2026 to October 23, 2026 is being allowed so that farmers may review their records entered for the reference period relevant to them and, where necessary, arrange for it to be corrected.Farmers have an opportunity to check and ensure their records on the NFD are complete and accurate until 23:59p.m on October 23, 2026.

If a fertiliser purchase is missing or incorrect, DAFM said farmers should contact the fertiliser merchant who supplied the fertiliser in the first instance, as the merchant is responsible for recording the sale on the NFD.

If the information relates to a record that you are responsible for submitting, you should log in to MyAgFood.ie to submit the relevant information.

When will payment issue?

It is proposed that payments will start to issue under the scheme in early December 2026.

The minimum tonnage of chemical fertiliser eligible for payment under the scheme is 2.5t and the maximum tonnage for which support will be granted will be up to 100t.

The rate per tonne will be €40/t and the minimum payment under the scheme will be €100.

No payment will issue where the amount calculated by applying the rate per tonne to eligible fertiliser purchases is less than €100.

A single payment will be made directly to the eligible recipient’s bank account.

It is the responsibility of the farmer to ensure that their bank account details are correct on that system.

Why is ground limestone and processed lime not included?

Ground limestone and processed lime are not included in the eligible fertiliser purchases used to calculate payments under the scheme.

DAFM said this is because the scheme is targeted at an exceptional increase in fertiliser costs arising from the disruption to international fertiliser and energy markets.

While the sourcing of ground limestone may also be affected by increased energy and transport costs, it has not been subject to the same direct fertiliser market pressures, according to the department.