The European Commission has indicated that it is open to member states that want to create farm retirement schemes in the next CAP.

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, head of DG Agri Wolfgang Burtscher said the Commission said such a scheme could see farmers at retirement age receive “lump sum payments”.

“Member states will have the possibility to support forms of co-operation among farmers that could include farm partnerships between older and younger generations of farmers.

“These partnerships may include actions such as retirement planning and lump sum payments for farmers in the retirement age who permanently transfer their holding,” he said.

New series

In next week’s Irish Farmers Journal, we start a special three-week series looking at the potential benefits and pitfalls of a new retirement scheme and look back at the best and worst of the last scheme.

But as part of the series, we also want to know how you feel about the potential scheme.

  • Would you consider entering a retirement scheme?
  • How much money would entice any farmer to retire?
  • Should farmers’ BPS payments cease at retirement age?
  • Are older farmers holding back young farmers from entering the business?
  • Your opinion matters, so get in touch below with your comments, opinions and your experience.