Schemes

TAMS delay piling pressure on farmers 

More than 650 farmers are urgently awaiting grant aid for investments made on farms under TAMS, as another tranche of the investment scheme closes.

Exclusive: Environmental payments worth €10m issue to 15,000 farmers 

Almost €10m in environmental payments are issuing today to 15,000 farmers in the GLAS 1 and 2 scheme.

€1.5m fund for weather stricken tillage farmers 

An emergency fund worth an estimated €1.5m is set to open for tillage farmers in the west hit by poor weather during last year’s harvest.

Department makes key change to topping dates for GLAS farmers 

The Department of Agriculture has made a key change to topping dates relevant to GLAS participants who chose Low Input Permanent Pasture Action.

Advice: Prepare your exit strategy from limited companies 

Most articles - and public meetings - on company formation over the past ten years have been about the advantages of incorporation.

Planners urged to speed up GLAS nutrient documents 

Planners have been urged to submit over 30,000 outstanding nutrient management plans by next week to ensure payment of overdue GLAS monies.

Fixation on property and inheritance can cause untold misery and misfortune for families 

Attachment to land and property runs deep in Ireland. Taken to extremes, this fixation on property and inheritance can cause untold...

Rural TDs demand a new 'Fair Deal' for nursing home care 

THE Government must follow through on promises to remove the "discriminatory" rules penalising farm families under the Fair Deal scheme, a TD has warned.

Hill farmers facing a €50m hammer blow on payments 

Hill farmers and stock owners with marginal land potentially stand to lose more than €50m in direct payments as a result of a new round of land eligibility inspections by the Department of...

Advice: How farmers can make provision for children with an intellectual disability 

Farming families share a proportionate number of children with intellectual disabilities as do all other sectors of the community. However, farm...

Challenges facing sheep farms are global 

Ewes and lambs are currently grazing silage aftermath in Lyons. This silage was harvested on May 11 and has shown excellent regrowth. This is a new area of ground not previously grazed by sheep.

Bridging the gap to Moate Mart memories 

There were some serious celebrations in the Westmeath village of Moate at the launch of Moate Mart Memories - a collection of old stories and photographs of what was once one the busiest...

Don't let silage distract you from the late calving cows says top vet 

It is a very busy time on most dairy farms at present. Heat detection and AI are at the forefront of everyone's mind and the calving season is already long forgotten about. However, in small...

All you need to know about the new succession farm partnerships 

Succession farm partnerships are a new income tax incentive to encourage farmers to transfer the farm business to their identified farming Successor.

How to avail of a €25,000 tax break and give young farmers a helping hand 

The Department of Agriculture has opened its new Succession Farm Partnership initiative to encourage increased transfer of farmland to younger farmers.

Anger over Department demanding BPS repayments from farmers 

The Department has come under fire after sending repeated letters to farmers seeking repayment of monies overpaid following basic payment scheme reviews.

Can my husband's parents leave him out of the will after he's worked the farm for 10 years? 

Department starts preliminary checks on BPS applications 

The first run of preliminary checks on farmers' Basic Payment Scheme applications commenced this week.

How a pre-nup agreement can save the farm 

Jack and Aoife are engaged to be married next autumn. Jack (35) has just taken over the family 100-acre dairy farm and farm house from his parents.

Tide is turning in favour of €1,500 'pre-nup' deals 

It is clear that farmers of both sexes and all ages are now in favour of pre-nuptial agreements being recognised.

Minister pledges return to 'grassroots' approach on LEADER programme 

A return to a grassroots approach to the €250m LEADER rural development programme is being considered by Minister Heather Humphreys after a "no holds barred" meeting between the Minister...

'87pc farmer online usage must deliver prompt payments and reduced penalties' 

With 87% of farmers applying for their BPS/Greening payment online in 2017, the Deputy President of ICMSA has said that this must translate into an...

Minister gives commitment on timing of farmers’ balancing GLAS payment 

The Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has indicated that farmers will receive their balancing GLAS payment by the end of June.

Comment: Farmers need to look mortality in the eye and make a will 

"Was there a will?" or "who got the place?" are questions which are still commonly (if quietly) discussed in the outer circle of mourners at the funeral of a farmer.

Is my house exempt from Capital Acquisition Tax? 

Some weeks ago I wrote an article on tax breaks for the over 65s. In that article I referred in a brief paragraph to Capital Acquisition Tax (CAT) Dwelling House Exemption which prompted an...

Leader being undermined by 'bureaucracy' 

The "dead hand of the State" is strangling Ireland's multi-million euro LEADER programme.

Eye in the sky to replace most on-the-ground farm inspections 

New developments in satellite technology will dramatically reduce the number of on the spot field inspections carried out on farms across the EU.

Knowledge Transfer scheme extended by two months 

The Department of Agriculture has extended the deadline for the Knowledge Transfer scheme by two months after it was mired by computer system difficulties.

Number of farmers using donkeys to qualify for disadvantage payments jumps 

New figures show an increase in the number of farmers using donkeys to qualify for payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme.

Advice: Can trespassers sue farmers if they get injured on their land? 

Q. I am one of a number of farmers sharing grazing rights on a commonage in the east of the country. Being in a scenic area with easy access to the public this commonage is increasingly being used...

Changes in criteria severely limiting applications to National Reserve says Fianna Fail 

Fianna Fáil Agriculture and Food Spokesperson Charlie McConalogue has severely criticised Minister Creed for changing the criteria needed to access...

Deadline looms for Basic Payment Scheme applications 

Farmers are reminded that the closing date for the receipt of applications for this year’s Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is Monday, May 15, 2017.

Brexit data and rumblings from the States are giving me the economic jitters 

Years of covering farm politics has left me slightly jaded of the types of headlines generated by the IFA event last week - 'Brexit to be biggest threat...

Concerns increase in payments under ANC scheme might be stalled 

The Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has been called on to confirm his commitment to increase funding for the ANC scheme to €230m in 2018.

Closing date for applications to Teagasc agricultural college courses looms 

There is a need for a young educated workforce to meet the future needs of the land sector. That’s according to Tony Pettit, Head of Education in...

MEPs vote to allow Member States to increase young farmers' top-up to 50% 

Agriculture MEPs have approved a proposal to allow EU Member States increase young farmers’ top-ups from 25pc to 50pc of the basic payment...

It's time to go 'green' on basic payments say farm leaders 

Including 'Greening' within the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is a key element in both the IFA and ICMSA submissions on CAP 2020.

Ireland supports delay in implementation of new 'disadvantaged area' criteria 

Ireland has supported moves by Austria to delay the implementation of new rules which will set to which farmers are entitled to payment under...

Over 1,000 farmers face exclusion from 2016 GLAS scheme 

In excess of 1,000 of the 3,300 farmers waiting on GLAS I and GLAS II entitlements have failed to meet the scheme's eligibility requirements and will not be paid for 2016, the Department of Agriculture...

Extra ANC funds should target upland regions say hill farmers 

An additional €25m that has been earmarked for ANC payments in 2018 must be targeted at the country's uplands, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA) has insisted.

More trouble for farmers waiting up to over four months for GLAS payments 

The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that thousands of farmers still waiting on payments under the GLAS scheme are now unable to apply...

Department rolls out €35m hen harrier scheme 

Work on rolling out the Government's long-promised €35m hen harrier scheme is set to "begin immediately," Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has announced.

Advice: Old laws no longer apply for accidents caused by livestock 

The recent case of a man who settled a High Court action over injuries he suffered when he took a lift in a car which crashed into a heifer on a Tipperary road have brought the question of liability for...

'Go online or risk losing payments' warn Department officials 

The Department of Agriculture has issued an ultimatum to thousands of farmers to get online by 2018 or risk losing their EU direct payments.

Farmers seek Oireachtas hearing over 'unfairly targeting' and inspections fines 

Farmers in North Tipperary are understood to be seeking a hearing with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on agriculture over farm inspections...

8 tax reliefs every farmer over 65 should know about 

The average age of a farmer in Ireland is currently 60 which means that a substantial number are over 65 and leading healthy and active lives, enjoying an income from their farms while also being in...

Talks between farmers and Department ongoing after protest 

The impasse between the Department of Agriculture and farmers in North Tipperary remains, despite a recent meeting between the two.

New quality assurance scheme for beef and sheep farmers launched 

A new scheme to replace the Quality Assurance Scheme has been launched by Bord Bia.

New figures reveal big regional variations on land inspections 

Figures released at the Farmers' Charter meeting show a massive regional variation in the level of land eligibility inspections carried out by the Department in 2015.

Succession partnership tax relief clashes with Stamp Duty exemption 

The 2016 Finance Act introduced a farm succession initiative to encourage farmers to form partnerships with young trained farmers and to transfer ownership of the farm, within a specified...

Advice: Farmers' rights if their lands are subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order 

Q: I am a farmer in the West of Ireland and depend on the land completely to make a living. I have heard some talk of a local bypass and I am...