Applications to both the wider and higher options under the new £100m Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) will open for a five-week period at the end of February.
At an information roadshow in Armagh this week, DAERA officials outlined how the scheme will work in practice.
In the first tranche of applications, it is anticipated that 2,000 wider-level agreements will begin in July 2017, with 300 higher-level agreements starting on 1 January 2018. The scheme is due to open again to a second tranche of applicants in 2018.
Claims for payment are made on the Single Application Form (SAF), with agreements lasting five years. That will probably take agreements beyond the date that the UK leaves the EU, but the commitment from DAERA is that it will honour all agreements signed pre-Brexit (the EFS comes under the NI Rural Development Programme which is approved and part-funded by the EU).
Change
The main change from previous agri-environment schemes is that the EFS is not a whole farm scheme where a farmer enters all the land they own. Instead, if applying to the wider scheme, applicants choose up to a maximum of four options from a list of 20, that include measures such as hedge-laying, provision of a winter feed crop for wild birds or planting native tree corridors.
Payments are to cover 100% of costs incurred and income foregone. The minimum agreement value in the wider scheme must be at least £2,500 over the duration of the five years. So if a farmer chose only to lay a hedge with double fencing, at the payment rate of £16.04 per metre, they must lay at least 156m of hedge in the first year. It must then be maintained for the remainder of the agreement.
In most cases, the payments will be higher in the earlier years of the agreement, as much of the work has to be completed in year one. The maximum claim in the wider scheme is £12,500 for farms up to 25ha. For larger farms over 25ha, this limit is increased by £26.57/ha, up to a maximum of £20,000 over the duration of the agreement.
If the number of applications exceeds the initial funding available, a prioritisation mechanism will be applied. Each option has been allocated points based on their environmental benefit. Applications will be ranked by total points scored in decreasing order.
Standalone
Also part of the wider-level scheme are various standalone options to include the establishment of native woodland less than 5ha and payments for organic farmers (in conversion or management). The other standalone option is for traditional native breed cattle. The only breed eligible is Irish Moiled cattle. Payments are up to £95 per livestock unit (LU) up to a maximum of 16LU (each Moiled cow is 0.8LU).
Applications
All applications to EFS must be made online via a valid Government gateway account. Applicants must have a valid category one, or category two business ID and be farming at least 3ha of eligible land. In the wider scheme, it is the Basic Payment Scheme claimant (the active farmer) who should apply. Only in very specific circumstances in the higher-level scheme might a dual-use claim be accepted.
To avoid double-funding, agreements in an existing environmental scheme such as the NI Countryside Management Scheme (NICMS) must have run out by the time a new EFS agreement is in place –there cannot be two agri-environment schemes active on the same land at the same time.
Penalties may be applied to applicants who fail to deliver on what they commit to under their farm agreement. Therefore, the advice from DAERA officials is that potential applicants should carefully consider their options.
Higher-level scheme for
designated land
The higher-level scheme will involve fewer participants, but will probably still use a significant proportion of the available budget as it offers increased rates of payment to protect designated sites and habitats (such as areas of special scientific interest (ASSI)). Agreements are due to start from January 2018.
Areas that qualify for the higher option have already been pre-determined by DAERA (higher-level land) and applicants can access this information through their online application.
Higher-level land is classified under three tiers:
Tier 1: areas that have Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA) or RAMSAR status.Tier 2: areas with ASSI status.Tier 3: remaining priority habitats outside designated sites.Unlike in the wider scheme where applicants pick from a menu of options, in the higher-level scheme, applicants must include all higher-level land over which they have management control in their application.
Where an application is successful (priority will initially be given to Tier 1 and Tier 2 land) applicants will receive a letter of offer from DAERA, advising them to now submit a site-specific Remedial Management Plan (ssRMP).
At this stage, they must engage the services of an environmental planner (with appropriate qualifications).
It is the planner’s job to draw up a list of actions to bring the land under ‘‘favourable management’’.
This plan must be approved by DAERA before an agreement begins.
The farmer pays the planner and claims these fees back under the scheme. It is understood that DAERA hopes to publish a list of potential environmental planners, along with indicative rates of payment for this work.
Up to 20% of the budget for the higher-level scheme has been set aside to cover these fees.
While there is no upper limit on the area, length or quantity of an option that can be included in a plan, any agreement with a total value greater than £40,000 over the five-year period will have to be referred to the scheme manager for prior approval.
Applications to both the wider and higher options under the new £100m Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) will open for a five-week period at the end of February.
At an information roadshow in Armagh this week, DAERA officials outlined how the scheme will work in practice.
In the first tranche of applications, it is anticipated that 2,000 wider-level agreements will begin in July 2017, with 300 higher-level agreements starting on 1 January 2018. The scheme is due to open again to a second tranche of applicants in 2018.
Claims for payment are made on the Single Application Form (SAF), with agreements lasting five years. That will probably take agreements beyond the date that the UK leaves the EU, but the commitment from DAERA is that it will honour all agreements signed pre-Brexit (the EFS comes under the NI Rural Development Programme which is approved and part-funded by the EU).
Change
The main change from previous agri-environment schemes is that the EFS is not a whole farm scheme where a farmer enters all the land they own. Instead, if applying to the wider scheme, applicants choose up to a maximum of four options from a list of 20, that include measures such as hedge-laying, provision of a winter feed crop for wild birds or planting native tree corridors.
Payments are to cover 100% of costs incurred and income foregone. The minimum agreement value in the wider scheme must be at least £2,500 over the duration of the five years. So if a farmer chose only to lay a hedge with double fencing, at the payment rate of £16.04 per metre, they must lay at least 156m of hedge in the first year. It must then be maintained for the remainder of the agreement.
In most cases, the payments will be higher in the earlier years of the agreement, as much of the work has to be completed in year one. The maximum claim in the wider scheme is £12,500 for farms up to 25ha. For larger farms over 25ha, this limit is increased by £26.57/ha, up to a maximum of £20,000 over the duration of the agreement.
If the number of applications exceeds the initial funding available, a prioritisation mechanism will be applied. Each option has been allocated points based on their environmental benefit. Applications will be ranked by total points scored in decreasing order.
Standalone
Also part of the wider-level scheme are various standalone options to include the establishment of native woodland less than 5ha and payments for organic farmers (in conversion or management). The other standalone option is for traditional native breed cattle. The only breed eligible is Irish Moiled cattle. Payments are up to £95 per livestock unit (LU) up to a maximum of 16LU (each Moiled cow is 0.8LU).
Applications
All applications to EFS must be made online via a valid Government gateway account. Applicants must have a valid category one, or category two business ID and be farming at least 3ha of eligible land. In the wider scheme, it is the Basic Payment Scheme claimant (the active farmer) who should apply. Only in very specific circumstances in the higher-level scheme might a dual-use claim be accepted.
To avoid double-funding, agreements in an existing environmental scheme such as the NI Countryside Management Scheme (NICMS) must have run out by the time a new EFS agreement is in place –there cannot be two agri-environment schemes active on the same land at the same time.
Penalties may be applied to applicants who fail to deliver on what they commit to under their farm agreement. Therefore, the advice from DAERA officials is that potential applicants should carefully consider their options.
Higher-level scheme for
designated land
The higher-level scheme will involve fewer participants, but will probably still use a significant proportion of the available budget as it offers increased rates of payment to protect designated sites and habitats (such as areas of special scientific interest (ASSI)). Agreements are due to start from January 2018.
Areas that qualify for the higher option have already been pre-determined by DAERA (higher-level land) and applicants can access this information through their online application.
Higher-level land is classified under three tiers:
Tier 1: areas that have Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA) or RAMSAR status.Tier 2: areas with ASSI status.Tier 3: remaining priority habitats outside designated sites.Unlike in the wider scheme where applicants pick from a menu of options, in the higher-level scheme, applicants must include all higher-level land over which they have management control in their application.
Where an application is successful (priority will initially be given to Tier 1 and Tier 2 land) applicants will receive a letter of offer from DAERA, advising them to now submit a site-specific Remedial Management Plan (ssRMP).
At this stage, they must engage the services of an environmental planner (with appropriate qualifications).
It is the planner’s job to draw up a list of actions to bring the land under ‘‘favourable management’’.
This plan must be approved by DAERA before an agreement begins.
The farmer pays the planner and claims these fees back under the scheme. It is understood that DAERA hopes to publish a list of potential environmental planners, along with indicative rates of payment for this work.
Up to 20% of the budget for the higher-level scheme has been set aside to cover these fees.
While there is no upper limit on the area, length or quantity of an option that can be included in a plan, any agreement with a total value greater than £40,000 over the five-year period will have to be referred to the scheme manager for prior approval.
SHARING OPTIONS