Claims under the multi-species sward and red clover silage measures can still be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine until Wednesday (October 4).
The original deadline for the submission of claims for both measures had been Friday (September 29). However, the department has informed applicants that claims can still be made for an additional five days after the original closing date.
The department confirmed: “[The department] wishes to advise the deadline for submission of claims under both the multi-species swards measure and the red clover silage measure has been extended to Wednesday, October 4.
“An SMS text message issued to approved applicants under both measures to notify them of the extension,” the department said.
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, 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 Wednesday.
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.