The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that over 5,500 Area Monitoring System (AMS) notifications have been sent to farmers since June.

The AMS is the observation and assessment of agricultural activities and practices on agricultural areas by data.

In order to do this, data from Copernicus Sentinel Satellite is gathered every five days and is stored to provide up-to-date information, as required.

The AMS interprets the satellite imagery to provide decisions on agricultural activity on land parcels using computer algorithms, such as if grazing or mowing have taken place or a crop is established.

Under the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the AMS is mandatory across all EU member states to monitor compliance with farm scheme criteria.

In June 2025, the department issued 1,538 notifications for the presence of a potential artificial surface as a result of the AMS.

81% of the AMS notifications were responded to by the deadline of 8 July 8, 2025, DAFM confirmed to Agriland.

A geotagged photo using the department's AgriSnap app was only required where a farmer wanted to reject a notification.

258 AMS findings were rejected by farmers with 179 supporting AgriSnap photos submitted.

In July and August 2025, DAFM issued a further 4,051 AMS notifications.

These covered the potential presence of incorrect crops, potential presence of ineligible areas, land parcels with a potential lack of evidence of agricultural activity or a potential lack of evidence of ACRES Winter Bird Food.

Herdowners or their Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisor have until September 2, 2025 to respond to these notifications.

Approximately 45% of these notifications have been addressed to date, with almost 60% of the responses providing a supporting AgriSnap photo.

"Where the AMS determines that a land parcel(s) has not met the area-based eligibility conditions of any scheme applied for, payments may be reduced, and penalties may apply," a DAFM spokesperson said.