There were 1,303 fewer herds receiving BDGP payments last year.
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Co Limerick had the highest drop-off rate, with the number of herds receiving payments under the scheme dropping by 7.6% between 2015 and 2016. Co Westmeath was next with a 7.1% fall in the number of farms completing the programme last year.
All counties except Dublin saw the number of herds receiving payments shrink last year. The drop-off rate was lowest in Co Clare, Leitrim and Sligo, at around 3.5%. The suckler heartlands of Co Galway and Mayo, which have the largest number of BDGP participants, had mid-range figures, with 5.6% fewer farmers completing the programme last year.
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There was a nationwide fall of 1,303 herds or 5.4% successfully claiming BDGP money in 2016 compared with 2015. This led to a €1.6m reduction in the total amount of payments to farmers under scheme last year, or 3.7%.
The Department appeared to be expecting a larger drop-off rate as the amount available for the scheme in Budget 2016 was in fact overspent. "Payments on the BDGP were €10m more than the original budget, rewarding the strong compliance with training and carbon navigator conditions and fast turnaround of claims," a Department spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
This is in contrast to the underspend observed on other schemes such as GLAS and TAMS.
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Co Limerick had the highest drop-off rate, with the number of herds receiving payments under the scheme dropping by 7.6% between 2015 and 2016. Co Westmeath was next with a 7.1% fall in the number of farms completing the programme last year.
All counties except Dublin saw the number of herds receiving payments shrink last year. The drop-off rate was lowest in Co Clare, Leitrim and Sligo, at around 3.5%. The suckler heartlands of Co Galway and Mayo, which have the largest number of BDGP participants, had mid-range figures, with 5.6% fewer farmers completing the programme last year.
There was a nationwide fall of 1,303 herds or 5.4% successfully claiming BDGP money in 2016 compared with 2015. This led to a €1.6m reduction in the total amount of payments to farmers under scheme last year, or 3.7%.
The Department appeared to be expecting a larger drop-off rate as the amount available for the scheme in Budget 2016 was in fact overspent. "Payments on the BDGP were €10m more than the original budget, rewarding the strong compliance with training and carbon navigator conditions and fast turnaround of claims," a Department spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
This is in contrast to the underspend observed on other schemes such as GLAS and TAMS.
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