While many bean growers did not get good or even decent yields in 2018 as a result of the heat and dryness, they recently received a bonus in the form of an increased coupled support payment.

Growers of either field beans, peas or lupins received a payment of €350/ha last December, €100/ha higher than the targeted €250/ha.

This represents a payment that is 40% higher than the target because the claimed area was only 8,571ha, 28.53% below the targeted area. The €3m fund for the protein aid scheme was then paid out over the reduced area.

Support

The scheme was designed around supporting 12,000ha with a €250/ha payment.

When the area claiming support exceeded 12,000ha the payment growers received was decreased proportionately, as happened in some recent years. But when the area claimed is less than the 12,000ha target, the payment per hectare is increased, as happened in 2018 because of the difficulty in getting bean crops sown due to the late spring.