All applicants to this year’s Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) will receive full payment for the hectares and crops they have applied for, Agriland understands.
It is understood that the scheme has seen a significant level of oversubscription, and that funding allocated to the scheme will be increased to cater for all applicants.
Payment rates under the SIM are €250/ha for barley, wheat, oats and rye, and €150/ha for oilseed rape.
Payments are subject to a minimum application of 5ha and a maximum application of 40ha. The indicative annual allocation for the scheme under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan is €10 million.
Any changes to the final allocation to the scheme on an annual basis are subject to the national budgetary process and uptake by farmers, with just over €11 million being paid out in 2022 on some 50,000ha.
It is expected that this year will see an even greater increase in total allocation, as over 70,000ha have been applied for under the SIM.
The move to accept all applicants and pay them full payment rates has been welcomed by the Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG).
Its chairperson, Bobby Miller, told Agriland that the IGGG had made representation to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine seeking full payment for all applicants.
“Thankfully the department responded quickly. We welcome the decision.
“In the new MACC [Marginal Abatement Cost Curve] the SIM on tillage farms is highlighted as a key investment helping us to reach our climate targets,” Miller added.
According to the IGGG chairperson, “every farmer finds it a good scheme”.
However, he also said that decision by the department is a “small relief” in light of the current poor weather, which shows no let up. Miller said that the current harvest is “worrying” due to the conditions.
SIM
The SIM was introduced in 2021 as a pilot measure. The purpose of the scheme is to chop straw and incorporate it into the soil, with the aim of improving soil organic matter.
This in turn increases carbon storage potential, soil workability, water holding capacity, and soil microbial activity.