The full details of the 2016 Young Farmers Scheme have been released by the Department of Agriculture this week. This is a completely separate scheme with its own annual fund of €24m.

It pays a top-up of around €62/ha up to 50ha for each eligible entitlement (leased in or owned) by eligible young farmers.

In 2015, only €16m was required, leaving scope for additional young farmers to join or farmers successful in 2015 to claim on more entitlements linked to eligible hectares submitted under the 2016 BPS scheme.

Successful farmers in 2015 just have to tick a box on their BPS application. However, under the rules, successful farmers who started in 2010 and received payment last year are no longer eligible. Young farmers also have to remain solely or jointly in control of the farm and not hit their 41st birthday in 2016.

The scheme is open to new eligible young farmers each year. They must apply online by 16 May. The key change is that they must have started their agricultural education by 16 May 2016.

In 2015, farmers were allowed to have started the required education up to 31 December. With agricultural courses packed to capacity, places are unlikely to be available, forcing farmers in that position to wait until 2017 to apply.

National Reserve

Meanwhile, no decision has been made on the National Reserve. With the timeline getting very tight, some believe that there might be no National Reserve in 2016 at this stage. While Macra is pushing strongly for a linear cut on all payments, the other farm organisations remain opposed to additional cuts.