The new deadline for spreading chemical fertiliser on land is almost here. Farmers have until Sunday 30 September to spread fertiliser before the winter ban comes into place.

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy announced in August that the closed period during which land spreading of chemical fertiliser is forbidden would be pushed back from 15 September to 30 September and the closed period for slurry will not commence until 31 October instead of the normal 15 October.

The objective of the extension is to help boost grass growth in the autumn to make up for inadequate fodder reserves on farms.

Heritage grants

The 2019 GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme will open for applications in early January 2019.

The 2018 scheme closed for applications on Friday 24 November 2017 and 2018 grant offers have issued. Every year the scheme has been oversubscribed and competition has been strong for a place.

In a parliamentary question last week, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said that in 2018, 44 projects were approved and 18 projects were carried forward from 2017 to 2018 due to wildlife legislation and/or exceptional circumstances.

“The principal objective of the scheme is to ensure that traditional farm buildings ... are conserved for active agricultural use,” he said.

Farmers interested in applying for the 2019 scheme should note that you must have a GLAS contract with the Department in order to apply.

The farmer must also own the building or other related structure for which funding is sought, or is acting with the permission of the owner.

Grant amounts vary between €4,000 and €25,000. A grant award will not be for more than 75% of the cost of the works, with a maximum available grant of €25,000.

In the application, farmers have to outline what works are required, the details of the conservation consultant employed to supervise the project, quotations from builders on the estimated costs, details of the heritage interest of the building and justification that there would be a benefit to the public by carrying out the work.