Today (Tuesday, October 4) Teagasc held the first of its October ‘Transferring the Family Farm’ events in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

One topic farmers could learn about at the event was registered farm partnerships (RFPs), of which there are now approximately 3,000 in Ireland.

In order to be eligible to be a RFP, the partnership must be made up of at least two people, up to a maximum of 10.

There then must be a category one applicant and either another another person from category one, or a person from category two.

A farmer can only be a partner in one RFP at any one time and the agreement is for a minimum of five years. Farms in the RFP cannot be any further than 75km apart.

young green cert teaching

Category one and two

A category one applicant is a farmer who has farmed greater than 3ha for two years before the date that the partnership is been formed.

A category two applicant is a person with an appropriate agricultural qualification (minimum level 6) whose contribution is a minimum of 20% of the profit-sharing arrangement; and who works in the farm partnership for at least 10 hours/week.

A category three applicant refers to other persons, aside from those described in categories one and two.

Checklist

Before thinking about going down the road of a RFP, Teagasc said to first seek advice from a number of people, such as: Family members; those already in a RFP; an accountant; a solicitor; an agriculture advisor; a district veterinary office; and a farm partnership office.

For those that are completing a RFP application form, the following documentation needs to be forwarded to the Farm Partnership Registration Office.

This includes:

  • Completed application form – which includes farm partnership details, individual partner’s details and partners declaration;
  • Partnership tax reference number;
  • Completed bank details;
  • A signed copy of the farm partnership agreement;
  • Copy of on-farm agreement;
  • Copy of folio of all owned lands;
  • Copy of leases for all lands leased in;
  • Stamp duty certificate from Revenue for all leased land;
  • Evidence of agricultural qualifications for category two partners.

The remaining Transferring the Family Farm events will take place in Co. Mayo tomorrow (October 5); Westmeath on Thursday (October 6); Tipperary on October 11; Cork on October 13; and Wexford on October 13.