The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, has announced an extension to the deadline for applications for the new Sheep Improvement Scheme.
The deadline has been extended to January 9, 2023.
The Minister said:
“I have decided to extend the deadline for applications to January 9, 2023. I want to give as much time as possible to farmers and advisors to fully familarise themselves with the requirements of the scheme and to submit their application online.
“I know the new Sheep Improvement Scheme will be a key part of sheep farmers’ farming systems over the course of the Common Agricultural Policy.
“It will be a really important scheme for driving improvements in the flock as well as being an income support for farmers.”
Sheep Improvement Scheme
The €20 million Sheep Improvement Scheme will replace the current Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) in 2023 under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Payments under the scheme will be at a rate of €12 per eligible breeding ewe, which is an increase from the €10 per eligible breeding ewe under the SWS.
Applications for the scheme can be made online by the farmer or by a Farm Advisory System (FAS) approved advisor via the application facility on www.agfood.ie.
The first year of the scheme will run from February 1, 2023, and will end on December 31, 2023.
Each subsequent year of the scheme will run from January 1, to the December 31, each year.