The Department of Agriculture this week circulated correspondence to Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisers regarding eco scheme agricultural practice four – planting of native trees and/or hedgerows. The correspondence asked advisers to remind their relevant clients participating in this Eco Scheme practice, that receipts denoting the purchase of native plants must be submitted to the Department by 30 September 2025.

The information warned that failure of farmers to comply with this measure will result in a penalty on the 2025 Eco Scheme payment. It added that any queries can be submitted to ecoscheme@agriculture.gov.ie.

The 2025 Eco Scheme payment will commence on 23 October 2025 and it is expected that the rate of payment will be broadly in line with the 2024 payment of €66.50/ha. The majority of Eco Scheme participants are satisfying scheme requirements by satisfying space for nature areas.

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TAMS tranche 10 opened

Tranche 10 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS III) opened for applications on 10 September 2025. Any investments approved in this tranche will be based on new reference costs published this week. The tranche closes for applications on 10 December 2025.

There has been a lot of change in the costs, with the reference costs for items incorporating concrete works increasing in most cases by 10% to 20%. Robotic milking machines have recorded one of the greatest increases, rising by 30%, while items such as automatic scrapers and washer units for milking machines are up 20% to 25%.

There is variability in machinery items. The reference cost of a self-propelled sprayer has increased by a massive 45%, while other items including some LESS equipment have seen their reference costs reduce. It is similar for animal handling facilities, with the reference costs for unroofed crushes/races and electronic reading equipment reduced, while sheep-handling equipment remains unchanged.

More information is available on pages 56 and 57, while the full listing of every item is detailed on www.farmersjournal.ie.

Wool prices steady in British Wool auction

The latest British Wool auction held in the UK on 2 September 2025 witnessed a steady trade with prices unchanged. The average greasy price recorded was 96.9p/kg (€1.11/kg). This is the price that influences returns paid to sheep farmers following the deduction of handling fees which were about 50p/kg (58c/kg) in 2024.

The clearance rate was in line with the previous sale at 89.7% with 1,053t of the offering of 1,173t traded. British Wool reports that there was 847t of new season wool traded and 205t of old season wool traded. The old season wool offering is said to have included a number of speciality lots, which generated keen competition.

The organisation also reported that select lots of good colour organic wool were also well sought after and attracted a premium.

It adds that test results for new season wool are significantly better than last year for colour with a greater proportion of number one grades in the core types.

The sale report highlights that improved colour of new season wool helped average prices for Romney, Cheviot and Blackface wool.

Meanwhile there is no change in prices paid for wool in Ireland with the majority of wool trading at 25c/kg. There has been some deals completed at 30c/kg for high-quality well-presented wool in larger volumes but in general the market is stagnant. Lower-quality wool such as grey/black Scotch wool continues to trade for 10c/kg to 15c/kg.