The claim system under the multi-species sward and red clover silage measures is set to close this Friday (September 29).
The claim system initially opened on August 30, following on from the opening of the application process in April.
The multi-species sward and red clover silage schemes have a combined budget of €2.5 million.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, these measures were introduced to promote “environmentally sustainable methods of farming”, with the department saying that these will have a positive impact on climate emissions, biodiversity and water quality.
A payment rate of up to €300/ha is being allowed for the measures as part of the government’s response to meeting increased input costs.
Farmers who applied for the measures can continue to upload their claims for payment through the agfood.ie portal up to Friday.
After signing into the online system, applicants should select ‘AgSchemes – Applications for Payment’ and then select the relevant measure from the scheme drop-down menu.
Applicants must have declared the appropriate crop code for the respective parcel on their 2023 Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) application.
Supporting documents, such as invoices and seed labels, must also be uploaded to agfood.ie to support the claim for payment.
Only seed purchased after the applicant’s expression of interest to participate in the respective measure was lodged on agfood.ie, and before the final date for sowing the crop (July 15, 2023), can be considered eligible for aid.
Trial work carried out by University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) School of Agriculture and Food Science has shown that the use of multi-species swards lowers the levels of nitrogen (N) fertiliser application on farms by at least 60%, when compared to typical swards.
Along with a significant reduction in N use, the researchers found there was a huge increase in the amount of fodder grown when this type of sward is used.
Initial findings from the research have shown that specific types of multi-species swards can produce up to 25% more herbage for cattle.