How many ‘young farmers’ applied for BISS this year?

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has outlined the number ‘young farmers’ that applied for income support under the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CISYF) this year.

According to the DAFM, as of the closing date of May 15, a total of 7,077 applications were received under the CISYF.

The DAFM clarified that this figure includes some 600 applications submitted under the temporary reference number facility for applicants without a herd number, and added that “not all of these applications will result in a final eligible application for processing”.

The Young Farmers Scheme payment or CISYF is made per eligible hectare, subject to a maximum of 50ha.

Payments should average approximately €150/eligible hectare over the five-year term of the scheme, according to DAFM.

The CISYF is a payment made to farmers under the age of 40 who are educated in agriculture. According to DAFM, the purpose of the payment is “to help them [young farmers] succeed in farming”.

To qualify for the CISYF, a farmer must have submitted a valid 2024 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application under a herd number on which the applicant is included, hold at least one payment entitlement or part thereof and be entitled to payment under BISS.

The applicant must also be aged no more than 40 at any time during the calendar year in which s/he first submits an application under the CISYF.

Looking at the overall figures and a total of 124,274 farmers applied online for the BISS and other area-based schemes as of the closing date of May 15.

It is important to note that not all of these applicants will be eligible for payment under BISS as they may not hold entitlements or have eligible land. 

In addition, temporary ‘reference number’ applications are used where an applicant is awaiting the assignment of a herd number and, based on previous years’ experience, not all of these will be successful, according to DAFM.

The DAFM has outlined that “it is not possible to say how many BISS applicants are above the age of 65” but noted that CSO data in 2020 showed that “almost one third of all farm holders were aged 65 or over”.  

Commenting on application trends for this year compared to other years, the DAFM said that “application numbers appear to be in line with previous years”.