A further 268 farmers have received their 85% Green Low-carbon Agri-environmental Scheme (GLAS) payment.

The most recent payment run totals €958,018, and the Department of Agriculture confirmed that “the payment of the remaining 15% of the 2016 payment will commence once all required GLAS inspections have been completed”.

The Department told the Irish Farmers Journal last week that the final instalment will be paid in June and that they would make contact with all farmers with delayed payments by the end of the month (April). As we went to press on 3 May, the Department had not issued any further clarity on Minister Creed’s comments last week regarding the “significant cohort” that may be ineligible for the scheme.

Farmers, after joining GLAS III, should be making plans now to carry out the actions they submitted in their plans. There are some important actions that must be completed by 31 May.

Some of the main requirements for these actions are listed to the right. These actions include sowing of wild-bird cover, protection of water courses from bovines, erection of bird, bat and bee boxes and the bee habitat action.

Some farmers will also have to set up riparian margins on their land and some tillage farmers may be required to establish and maintain a buffer margin around a visible archaeological monument in a tillage parcel by the end of May.

Despite the looming deadlines, many farmers have still not received their information packs for GLAS. Without information – such as precise locations of actions to be carried out and details of how to carry out these actions properly – it is difficult to plan effectively.

In the meantime, farmers anxious to start work may be able to receive a copy of the plan from their planner. The specifications for GLAS III are available on the Department’s website under the “Farmer Schemes & Payments” tab.

On page 40 of this week’s paper, we outline best practice for sowing wild-bird cover in GLAS. Now is a great opportunity to get the crop sown, with conditions almost perfect on most farms.