Some 227 farmers have received over €156,000 in payments in the latest round of bonus payments issued by the Hen Harrier Programme this week, project manager Fergal Monaghan told the Irish Farmers Journal.
These are 2018 hen harrier payments for farmers in designated areas where the number of nesting bird pairs reached pre-established targets, or who had nests in the vicinity of their farm.
To qualify for the payment, farmers also had to achieve a score six or higher in at least one of their fields in the habitat evaluation conducted earlier. Habitat payments for 2018 based on those scores concluded last month, totalling €1.58m to 614 farmers.
This means the Hen Harrier Project has now paid over €1.74m to participating farmers for its first year of operation. Monaghan said just over €2,000 remain to be paid for 2018 over some missing documents and one case was still under review.
Many farmers who were in the project in 2018 will have an opportunity to improve their habitat score
While he acknowledged that the total may seem low for a scheme allocated €25m over five years, Monaghan said that supporting actions payments start only in the second year.
"Many farmers who were in the project in 2018 will have an opportunity to improve their habitat score," he added, which will also lead to higher payments in future years.
In addition, 1,059 extra farmers will be offered contracts for the scheme this year, bringing the number of participants to over 1,600. These farmers manage almost 40,000 ha of designated land. This is equivalent to 69% of the total BPS area in the Special Protection Areas designated for breeding hen harriers.
Transaction costs
Improvements from this year include an increase in the maximum hen harrier bonus payment from €1,000 to €1,200 per farm or €50-60/ha, and a contribution towards transaction costs of up to €300 for smaller farms. This is in recognition of the fact that paying advisors or attending training courses may make the programme less attractive for farmers with smaller areas of eligible land.
Monaghan said that some designated areas in the scheme had seen increasing numbers of hen harrier breeding pairs, while others continued to suffer declines. "Overall the population is relatively stable," he said.
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Some 227 farmers have received over €156,000 in payments in the latest round of bonus payments issued by the Hen Harrier Programme this week, project manager Fergal Monaghan told the Irish Farmers Journal.
These are 2018 hen harrier payments for farmers in designated areas where the number of nesting bird pairs reached pre-established targets, or who had nests in the vicinity of their farm.
To qualify for the payment, farmers also had to achieve a score six or higher in at least one of their fields in the habitat evaluation conducted earlier. Habitat payments for 2018 based on those scores concluded last month, totalling €1.58m to 614 farmers.
This means the Hen Harrier Project has now paid over €1.74m to participating farmers for its first year of operation. Monaghan said just over €2,000 remain to be paid for 2018 over some missing documents and one case was still under review.
Many farmers who were in the project in 2018 will have an opportunity to improve their habitat score
While he acknowledged that the total may seem low for a scheme allocated €25m over five years, Monaghan said that supporting actions payments start only in the second year.
"Many farmers who were in the project in 2018 will have an opportunity to improve their habitat score," he added, which will also lead to higher payments in future years.
In addition, 1,059 extra farmers will be offered contracts for the scheme this year, bringing the number of participants to over 1,600. These farmers manage almost 40,000 ha of designated land. This is equivalent to 69% of the total BPS area in the Special Protection Areas designated for breeding hen harriers.
Transaction costs
Improvements from this year include an increase in the maximum hen harrier bonus payment from €1,000 to €1,200 per farm or €50-60/ha, and a contribution towards transaction costs of up to €300 for smaller farms. This is in recognition of the fact that paying advisors or attending training courses may make the programme less attractive for farmers with smaller areas of eligible land.
Monaghan said that some designated areas in the scheme had seen increasing numbers of hen harrier breeding pairs, while others continued to suffer declines. "Overall the population is relatively stable," he said.
Read more
Hen Harrier scheme to accept all applicants
Your Farm: the future is local for environmental schemes
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