The current tranche of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS III), tranche 13, closes for applications on Friday 4 September. The Irish Farmers Journal has received a lot of correspondence from farmers in recent weeks following the announcement by the Department of Agriculture of approval rates in tranche 12 and farmers starting to receive approval or rejection letters.
The queries in most cases relate to the cut-off mark and if there is any better prospects of farmers receiving approval in the following tranche. This is not a straightforward answer as the cut-off mark for a particular entry route is influenced by the number of applications submitted and the approval rate.
The only information farmers have to go on is from the previous tranche, ie tranche 12. Ranking and selection was applied at the following rates across each scheme to manage the number of approvals:
Cut-off marks
The cut-off mark in entry routes such as LESS are high with a rejection letter seen by the Irish Farmers Journal showing a cut-off mark of 31.8 marks. This is not surprising given interest in the scheme and the fact that only 10% of applications are being approved. The only farmers really receiving approval at this high cut-off rate are young farmers with lands categorised as Areas of Natural Constraint and smaller holdings.
There is no guarantee however that the cut-off rate will remain high as if a scheme has a low approval rate for a significant period of time there is a tendency for farmers to submit fewer applications. This is seen with the SCIS where the cut off rate is reported at over 13 marks, substantially lower than for LESS.
The cut-off rate will also be influenced by the number of applications being held over from the previous tranche. Under the terms and conditions an unsuccessful application will be automatically carried forward once to the subsequent tranche.
Ranking and selection
It is also important to note that there are slight differences in the ranking and selection criteria used across different entry routes. Table 1 shows the ranking and selection used in the SCIS, DES and FSCIS.
A notable difference in the TCIS for example is marks awarded for lands included in the Protein Aid Scheme and Straw Incorporation Measure while in the AWNSS there is 40 marks for nutrient storage investment. This provides a heavy weighting for such investments and ties in with Minister Martin Heydon’s aim of supporting increased nutrient storage on farms.
Therefore it is important that farmers ensure that they are using the right ranking and selection guide for the scheme that they are considering when weighing up making an application. Buildings specialist Martin Merrick has requested the cut-off marks for each schemes from the Department and hopefully that will be received in the coming days. If so it will be detailed on www.farmersjournal.ie as soon as it is received and also noted in next week’s print edition.
The only scheme where ranking and selection has not been a feature in determining approvals to date is in the FSCIS where the Minister is also prioritising aid for farmers in improving health and safety on their farms. For applications that are not ready for submitting in the current tranche, tranche 14 will open following the closing of tranche 13 and remain open until 4 December.
Latest statistics
The latest statistics regarding applications in the last three tranches are detailed in Table 2. The number of applications received in tranche 11 was much lower than in tranche 10 with the application rate jumping up again in tranche 12. The Department reports that tranche 12 closed for applications on 19 June 2026 with 5,839 applications submitted across all schemes (plus a further 1,395 applications which rolled over from Tranche 11).