The Organic Farming Scheme will reopen for applications on 1 March, with the Department to provide funding of €4m for up to 500 farmers to join the scheme.

Young farmers are to be given priority access to the scheme and farmers in the dairy, horticulture and tillage sectors will be targeted to take part.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Senator Pippa Hackett said the Department expects 400 to 500 new farmers to be able to join the scheme with an additional €4m secured in this year’s budget.

I didn’t realise it had almost reached parity like that

Speaking at the IFA AGM on Tuesday, Minister Hackett said: “The scheme can be seen as doing less for more – that might be one way of selling it.”

IFA organic project team chair Nigel Renaghan raised the issue around the falling premium paid for organic over conventional beef, falling from an average of €1/kg to 10c/kg extra. Minister Hackett responded: “I didn’t realise it had almost reached parity like that, that’s a bit of a surprise to me, or shock, I should say.

“That is something maybe the food ombudsman could look into.”

Payments per hectare

Farmers entering the scheme could qualify for yearly payments of up to €220/ha during the conversion period and up to €170/ha when they have achieved full organic status.

Higher payment rates are available for organic horticulture and tillage farmers.

Farmers who apply to the scheme must declare their organic land in their annual Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) declaration, which the Department said “will be taken into consideration when determining entry into the scheme”.

Approval letters to successful applicants will likely issue in October, while the initial Organic Farming Scheme payment is expected to issue in November.

Full details on how and where to apply will be available when the scheme is formally launched on 1 March.

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