Some €29.1m in payments will be made to 8,554 farmers under the new National Tillage Sustainability Support Scheme, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced.

The Minister stated: “In recognition of the important role the tillage sector contributes to the sustainability of the agri-food sector as a whole and the significant challenges faced by the sector, this payment is a vital injection at a critical time.

“As part of Budget 2025, funding of €30m was secured to ensure the continued sustainability of the sector and allow for a degressive rate of payment to applicants who declared cereal and oilseed rape crops on their 2025 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based application[s],” he said.

“These payments demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting the sector and advances the commitment set out in the Programme for Government, as well as a key recommendation in the Food Vision tillage group report regarding the importance of delivering significant supports for the tillage sector,” the Minister concluded.

Irish Grain Growers Group response

The Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) commented on the announcement: “We welcome this morning’s announcement by the Minister that the tillage sustainability payments hitting tillage farmers' accounts, just ahead of spring planting.

“It is much needed, but falls short of what is required for the sector, particularly after the events of recent weeks, with agri diesel up 50% and fertiliser rising significantly too. [The] IGGG [has] long campaigned for a tillage-specific payment and call[s] for this to be a multi-annual payment.”

The Department has said that payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.

Farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding the payments can call the direct payments helpline at 057-867 4422 or email tillage@agriculture.gov.ie.