The supply of Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) entitlements available to buy or lease on the open market in NI has further tightened in recent weeks.

Agricultural consultants indicate that as more farmers have started to complete their 2026 single application forms, demand for entitlements has increased significantly.

“This is the busiest year I have ever had. My phone has been ringing non-stop with farmers enquiring about entitlements. If this demand keeps up, there will be a big shortage,” said Ciaran Kerr from consultancy firm Farm With Kerr.

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The key factor behind the scarcity is the new rule for 2026 which allows all areas of land except for laneways and farmyards to be eligible for claiming FSP.

The change has seen the total eligible area across NI increase by 4.55% or 45,000ha, but no new entitlements have been issued by DAERA.

It means farmers who want to claim payment on newly eligible land have to buy or lease entitlements, and this has led to a scarcity on the open market.

“If a farmer needs entitlements and gets offered some, I would encourage them to take them. Don’t shop around looking for a better offer because there might not be one and the entitlements that were offered at the start could be gone,” Kerr said.

Agricultural consultants also point out that the new historic years rule which was introduced in 2026 has had limited impact on the supply of FSP entitlements offered for sale.

Under this rule, around 2,000 landowners who had no agricultural activity in 2020 and 2021 are no longer eligible to claim FSP and have to sell their entitlements this year.

However, reports suggest many landowners did private deals with their existing tenants, so their entitlements did not reach the open market and are effectively being claimed on the same land as last year.