Michael Maloney and Associates has been dealing with five or six farmers on a daily basis to discuss their options when applying to GLAS.

"I know most of the farms and the features so we can quickly go through the options. About 30% of our farmers are Tier 1, with 60% in Tier 3, the lowest priority for access," he said.

He thinks all farmers have a good chance of qualifying for GLAS payments.

"Talking to other planners, it looks like every farmer who applies could get in this year. I’m encouraging farmers to get into Tier 2 by choosing to do at least 1ha of wild bird cover. This will increase their chances of entry if the scheme is oversubscribed."

To get the €5,000 payment, farmers should look at low-input pasture along with bird cover and hedgerows.

"If a farmer can get into those three they can quickly get close to the €5,000 maximum. Traditional hay meadows are also popular," said Michael.

"There are a good few stone walls in south Mayo and farmers who have them will look at the stone wall maintenance option. Coppicing hedgerows is also proving popular as a lot of farmers have old hedgerow where they can cut out trees for timber and fence it up," he added.

Michael said the biggest issue is where a farmer has all his land in one LPIS number.

"As it stands, if they split that parcel for, say, low-nitrogen grassland, they can’t pick another option – so they are very limited. The annoying thing is if they had split the parcel last year into three or four there would be no problem," he said.

Michael Maloney and Associates charge 10% per annum of what the farmer gets from GLAS.

"This covers the GLAS plan, a nutrient management plan that has to be done later in the year and records for each of the five years," he concluded.

Getting into GLAS: how to maximise your payments