The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that farm inspections will be included in both the Tillage Incentive Scheme and Protein Aid
A DAFM representative told Agriland: “At least 5% of applicants will be subject to on-farm inspections under the Tillage Incentive Scheme and the Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme. The cases selected will be a combination of random and risk-based.
“In 2022, Checks by Monitoring will be used to determine the agricultural activity on all the declared land parcels under the Protein Aid Scheme.
“However, it should be noted that a rapid field visit may be required under the Protein Aid Scheme to confirm eligibility.
“All eligible crops applied on for the Tillage Incentive Scheme, Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme and Protein Aid Scheme can either be harvested or whole cropped and ensiled.”
The figures now available courtesy of the 2022 basic payment scheme (BPS) applications, show that Ireland’s tillage area has increased by almost 6%, year-on-year.
The DAFM has said that this is a direct consequence of the Tillage Incentive Scheme.
Tillage scheme
Looking ahead, it is hard to know if all of this additional acreage will be retained in tillage next year. The Straw Incorporation Measure may encourage land to be retained for cropping purposes in the autumn.
But it is expected that some of the ground taken out of grass this year will be maintained for cropping purposes into the future.
The option of allowing eligible crops to be ensiled will encourage farmers to look more favourably on growing cereal and maize crops, should the current incentive schemes be extended into the future.
Lack of on-farm storage facilities is widely recognised as a deterrent to grow grain crops on the part of livestock farmers. Lack of specialist tillage machinery is another issue in this context.
However, most grassland farmers are well used to working with silage contractors, who can use self-propelled harvesters when it comes to ensiling whole crop forages.
More generally, there is a growing recognition that an expanded tillage centre will be one outcome of the debate now taking place on the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Irish agriculture.
Research has already confirmed that the tillage sector can quite easily become carbon neutral within a very short period of time.
Moreover, Ireland’s tillage area has shrunk by 40% over the past 30 years or so. So the scope to grow more crops does exist.