The top CAP and BISS payments made the headlines this week, but let us not forget that the majority of payments go to farmers in rural Ireland that will be hard set to break-even this year despite record output prices.

It might seem ridiculous to say it – but the CAP payment is all that many farmers have left after a year of work. It is the sad fact of the matter.

BISS

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The average BISS payment to farmers is in the region of €5,718 per farm, and this context is important when discussing the future support of food and agri as EU budgets come under pressure for defence and security. Without CAP many small farms would not exist.

This is the first year that Eco-scheme payments are isolated. Remember this isn’t a new pot of money, it is simply the ‘greening’ element of the old direct payment from Pillar 1.

It shows the ‘space for nature’ in a country like Ireland compared to many other EU countries when you see that over 90% of applicants opted for this measure.

Average payment is just €2,600 per holding, but because there is no upper limit, large land holdings can garner over €100,000. See more on pages 8 and 9.