The Department of Agriculture’s Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) section has announced an extension to the deadline for submitting payment claims for 2024 non-productive investments (NPIs).

It stated that the deadline for “the submission of claims in respect of the implementation of approved NPIs under those NPI 2024 Annual Works Plans (AWPs) has been extended to 25 January 2027”.

It also advised that “only one payment claim per AWP may be submitted and each action should be completed/established/installed in compliance with specification before the claim is entered on the system”.

Withdrawing landscape actions

The ACRES section also released a second circular regarding the procedure for ACRES Co-operation participants to withdraw an ACRES landscape action annual works plan (LA-AWP) in full or certain features.

“Withdrawal requests may be submitted by the participant, through their ACRES advisor or their local ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Team on their behalf, by completing and returning an ‘ACRES Landscape Actions (LA) Withdrawal Request’.

All requests for withdrawals of either an approved LA-AWP or individual action feature IDs must be submitted in writing”.

It added: “Please note that individual Action Feature ID(s) on a LA-AWP may only be withdrawn in full. Amendments to individual action feature ID quantities will not be allowed.”