The first approval letters for Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) landscape actions are to issue shortly to successful applicants, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said.

Farmers will be able to begin implementing these actions once approvals issue and those who applied have been told that decision letters will be viewable on MyAgFood accounts before they are received in the post.

Minister Heydon said that he was encouraged by the level of interest in landscape actions from farmers before applications closed at the end of September.

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“As landscape actions will be carried out in some of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the country, an extensive environmental screening process was undertaken following the closing date for the applications,” Minister Heydon said.

The actions’ aims include managing invasive species, scrub management, maintaining species rich grassland, aiding threatened species and protecting water quality.

“These actions help participants to improve the habitat quality of their land, which may in turn increase the score of that land, resulting in a higher payment,” Minister Heydon maintains.

“The direct engagement of the ACRES co-operation project teams with the scheme participants in the eight ACRES co-operation areas has helped those farmers to understand the way in which these landscape actions can help them, both individually and collectively,” he continued.

“Decision letters will be available on farmers’ MyAgFood accounts in the first instance, with a letter following in the post shortly thereafter.

“Participants will also be getting a landscape approval summary from my Department and a landscape action site-specific plan from their ACRES CP Team in the coming days.”

The minister said that these documents will contain all necessary information to allow for the action to be implemented.