Today’s (Tuesday, June 7) episode of Farmland, produced by Agriland Media Group, features a sit-down interview with Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett, who discusses the delays in forestry licensing, farm solar photovoltaic (PV) and the uptake of the Organic Farming Scheme.
In the latest episode, Minister Hackett speaks to Agriland editor Stella Meehan about the issuing of forestry licences and the backlogs being experienced by many in the industry.
Explaining that it is unlikely the annual afforestation targets will be met this year, the minister outlines that the DAFM is currently in the process of redesigning the licensing system to alleviate the issue.
The junior minister also said that more and more farmers are embracing new ways of working that are more sustainable and that farmers can learn from each other.
Also on the programme, Minister Hackett speaks about rooftop solar PV and the current legislation which does not allow farmers who have installed panels using funding from the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), to export excess energy back to the national grid.
The minister also discusses the recent announcement from the government that grants and supports under the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MGSS), are set to be phased out over the next 10 years.
Throughout the episode, the minister also speaks about alternative methods for green waste disposal as well as the lower than anticipated uptake of the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS).
All episodes of Farmland can be streamed via the award-winning digital platform, agriland.ie, and links will also be available across Agriland social media platforms.
Previous episodes of Farmland can be viewed by clicking here and the Farmland Extra podcast can be listened to on all major podcast platforms.