A total of 67,451 farmers have applied to the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed.
This equates to over 95% of the approximately 71,000 eligible applicants that were successfully approved into the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme.
The €30 million scheme to encourage farmers to grow sufficient grass and conserve fodder for next winter closed at midnight on Monday, December 5.
Farmers participating in the scheme next year are required to cut the hay or silage on the areas declared by September 5, 2023.
However, any participants can also amend the area declared when the scheme reopens again from May to July next year.
Only farmers with grassland who were accepted into the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme could reapply for the scheme in 2023.
The maximum area eligible for payment under the scheme is 10ha with a potential maximum payment of €1,000.
An advance payment will begin this month with the balance of payment then made in quarter four 2023.
Fodder Support Scheme 2022
Meanwhile, payments to farmers under the 2022 scheme have commenced this week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced.
The budget for the 2022 scheme, which was announced in June this year, is €56 million with a payment rate of €100/ha and a maximum of 10ha receiving support.
“Issuing payments to farm families in a rapid manner is a key priority of mine and I am proud of our track record in this space.
“These payments are an important income boost to farmers at this time of year,” Minister McConalogue said.
He added that the payments are in recognition of the increased input costs farmers are facing as a result of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The minister also confirmed that payments will continue to issue to cleared cases on a regular basis over the coming weeks.