The Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) is calling for a new "Tillage Expansion and Sustainability Scheme" to be announced as part of Budget 2026.

The IGGG is seeking this new scheme to "transform Ireland's agricultural emissions profile by strengthening the tillage sector".

It understood that the IGGG will meet with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon next Wednesday (July 16) to discuss this scheme and its wider budget submission.

The group wants to see a payment of €350/ha under this new scheme, for farmers with equal to or greater than 25% of land (at least 10ha) in cereals, pulses or oilseed rape.

Actions that tillage farmers would take under this scheme include (among others): fertiliser reduction; leaving 10% "space for nature" on their land; break crops; precision technologies on machinery and equipment; and non-soil inversion tillage on at least 20% of land.

The scheme would, according to the IGGG's submission, offer a top-up payment of €100/ha for "tillage expansion support".

This would involve grassland conversion for cereal, protein crops or oilseed rape for at least five years and on at least 25% of land, with a clawback if land is reverted back to grassland or maize within those five years.

According to the IGGG's calculations, this scheme, including the sustainbility payment aspect and the expansion aspect, would need a total annual budget of €92.5 million.

The scheme, and its actions, would have several benefits, according to the IGGG.

These include water quality improvement; biodiversity enhancement; climate change mitigation and contributing to carbon neutrality; and soil health.

The IGGG said that the proposed scheme is "not only a climate and biodiversity policy, it is also a strategic socio-economic investment in rural livelihoods, domestic food sovereignty, and long-term national resilience".

According to the group, the scheme would support "all three pillars of sustainability".

The IGGG said the scheme will support economic sustainability by "securing local economies and agri-food sovereignty"; support social sustainability through "rural stability, farm succession, and new entrants"; and support climate sustainability by decarbonising Irish agriculture.

While the 'Tillage Expansion and Sustainability Scheme' occupies the large majority of the IGGG's submission, it also outlines a number of demands in relation to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).

The IGGG wants to see the 40% grant rate for the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme component of TAMS to be increased to 60% in line with other TAMS component schemes.

The group also said the investment ceiling for TAMS tillage support of €90,000 per holding is "no longer fit for purpose", calling for the investment ceiling to be increased to €250,000 per holding.

It also highlighted the need for updated reference costs to reflect the cost of machinery, a process which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently undertaking.

The IGGG also called for a wider range of equipment to be available to tillage farmers under TAMS, including combine harvesters, tractors, grain trailers, flotation wheels, bale handling equipment, stone pickers, balers, and ploughs.

The IGGG has also called for a number of measures to ease the tax burden on tillage farmers, including a credit under the Carbon Tax for native sourced grains, pulses and oilseed rape.

The group is also calling for the amendment of tax relief on long-term land leases to reflect the "carbon intensity" of land used, with higher rates of relief for the lowest-intensity land.

According to the IGGG, there should be a 100% relief for tillage and a 0% relief for "high-stocked land".

The group's budget submission also called for a further carbon tax credit for "low emissions farming"; enhanced capital allowances for sustainable investments; an increased budget for the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) to €15 million; and the formation of a "tillage promotions body" to promote Irish tillage products.