The Department of Agriculture released a circular to Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) advisers on Thursday 6 July 2023 relating to amendments to the timeframes for submitting ACRES scorecards and penalty schedules.
The circular states “the requirement is now that: all scorecards for a participant must be submitted within 14 days of the date the first scorecard is initiated and before the deadline set by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM)”.
This means that once advisers start the process of completing scorecards for a farm, they have a period of 14 days to complete the process and submit all scorecards to the Department’s Generic Land Management (GLAM) system. This is irrespective of the number or type of scorecards to be completed.
No amendments
The Department adds: “Once an ACRES scorecard has been submitted in full, it will not be possible to make further changes to the scorecard and it cannot subsequently be amended.
"Department staff will not have access to retrieve, amend or delete submitted scorecards. It is therefore essential that advisers are fully satisfied that scorecards are correct at the time of submission because once submitted it will not be possible for a scorecard to be reopened or made available again to the adviser."
The current deadline for submitting scorecards is 30 August, with many advisers raising concerns that it is a challenging target, particularly in light of reported teething issues in completing scorecards.
Scorecards
There are currently 10 different scorecards, with the most relevant to farmers participating in the ACRES Cooperation.
The scorecards are a vital component that influence the level of payment a participant receives.
This is a central part of the results-based approach whereby participants are rewarded based on the condition of habitats, with higher payments for higher scores acting as the incentive to carry out initiatives that improve the landscape being farmed.
Penalty schedule amendments
The penalty schedule in ACRES is complex, with penalties present for different actions and scheme non-compliances.
There are 28 pages in the amended copy and this is being replaced in the current scheme specifications, which can be found on the Department’s website.
