There are 9,825 farmers at risk of missing out on their Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) payment, as they are yet to meet the minimum stocking requirements for the scheme.

To qualify for payment, a farmer who holds eligible ANC land must maintain a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare for seven consecutive months.

Farmers have until the end of the year to meet these minimum stocking requirements.

On average, 5,500 farmers miss out on their ANC payment due to a failure to meet the requirements. This ranged from a high of 6,461 farmers in 2015 to a low of 4,872 farmers in 2017.

Decisions

The figures were released by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to Independent TD Seán Canney.

Minister McConalogue said: “Not all eligible applicants to the scheme will necessarily satisfy all the scheme requirements in order to qualify for a payment.

"For example, many will make on-farm decisions in relation to their stocking rates which will impact on their eligibility for payment.”

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10,000 ANC farmers at risk of missing out on payments

To qualify for payment, a farmer who holds eligible ANC land must maintain a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare for seven consecutive months.