The Department of Agriculture will take over the registration of farm partnerships next year.

New legislation will allow sectors outside dairying to register partnerships for the first time, according to John Downey of the Department. He will tell the Teagasc collaborative Farming Conference in Clonmel today (Thursday) that new regulations will be published by the end of June and farm partnerships already registered will automatically transfer to the Department’s new registry, which up to now had been maintained by Teagasc.

Registered partnerships will be able to avail of 50% stock relief, doubling of grant thresholds under investment schemes as well as receiving more than one payment under the new GLAS scheme.

Up to now, one farmer in a registered partnership had to be a milk producer but this will change when quotas are abolished on 31 March 2015.

More from the Teagasc Collaborative Farming Conference next week.