The Department of Agriculture is advising farmers and merchants to check that the volume of fertiliser recorded as purchased on the national fertiliser database (NFD) from 15 September 2024 to 14 September 2025 is an accurate reflection of volumes traded.

This is as the level of payment under the new Fertiliser Exceptional Aid Scheme will be determined by such records, with the Department using fertiliser records on the system on 23 October 2026.

It said: “The Department will take an extract of data from the national fertiliser database on 23 October 2026 and the amount of fertiliser per farmer recorded on the database at this time will determine eligibility for the scheme and be used as the basis for calculating payments.”

As such, farmers wishing to check volumes recorded on the NFD should do so in advance of this date so that there is ample time to rectify any discrepancies.

The Department advises that where fertiliser purchases are missing or incorrect, then farmers should contact the merchant who supplied the fertiliser in the first place as opposed to contacting the Department, as it is the seller of the fertiliser who must amend the records.

It added that where the issue relates to information that a farmer is responsible for recording, then the relevant information should be submitted through a farmer’s MyAgfood.ie account.

Eligibility criteria

There are three criteria used to determine eligibility and payment rates as follows:

  • BISS active status: farmers must have submitted valid applications for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme in 2026.
  • NFD registration: farmers must be registered on the NFD as a fertiliser end user.
  • Fertiliser purchase data: payments will be calculated directly from purchasing data recorded on the NFD for 2025 fertiliser year spanning from 15 September 2024 to 14 September 2025.

    • Payment rate

    The minimum tonnage of chemical fertiliser eligible for payment under the scheme is 2.5 tonnes (t), with a maximum tonnage under the scheme of 100t.

    The Department outlines that the payment will be calculated when the total eligible amount is finalised, but it envisages that the minimum payment under the scheme will be €100, meaning the payment per tonne will be in the region of €40/t.

    Accessing MyAgfood.ie data

    Farmers can access their fertiliser records for the 2025 fertiliser year by taking the following steps:

  • Login to MyAgfood.ie.
  • Select the national fertiliser database.
  • This will present data for the most recent fertiliser year. To the right of this is the word ‘actions’ and three dots. Click on this and then select the heading 'transactions summary'. This will present the volume of fertiliser recorded on the database since it came into operation.