Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced an extension to the deadline for applications for the new Sheep Improvement Scheme.

The new deadline is now midnight on 9 January 2023.

The Minister said he wants to give as much time as possible to farmers and advisers to “fully familiarise themselves with the requirements of the scheme” and to submit their application online.

“I know the new Sheep Improvement Scheme will be a key part of sheep farmers’ farming systems over the course of the CAP. It will be a really important scheme for driving improvements in the flock, as well as being an income support for farmers,” he said.

Terms

The terms and conditions for the Sheep Improvement Sheep have also been updated to clarify the requirements of the genotyped ram and parasite control (faecal egg count) actions.

Applications for the scheme can be made by the farmer or by a farm advisory system-approved adviser via the application facility on www.agfood.ie.

Under the scheme, farmers will be paid €12 per breeding ewe up to the reference number of animals, which is determined at application stage and is based on the census return from the previous year.

The first year of the scheme will run from 1 February 2023 and will end on 31 December 2023. For each subsequent year of the scheme, the scheme year will run from 1 January until 31 December.

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