The section in the Department of Agriculture dealing with Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) payments continues to report steady progress in getting applications cleared for payment. The total amount of money paid under BPS now stands at €782m, with 118,597 applicants paid. Meanwhile, 86,133 farmers have received their ANC payment, bringing the total paid to €186m.

The Department continues to implement payments on a regular basis as queries are addressed and applications are cleared. This will continue until the end of the month, at which stage balancing 30% BPS payments will commence. Any applicant who has yet to receive any BPS payment so far will receive 100% of the payment at this stage.

A significant number of ANC applicants continue to have their payment held up due to inadequate stocking rates. The Department is monitoring stocking rates and once the required stocking rate of 0.15LU/ha over the calendar year and the minimum stocking rate of 0.15LU/ha over a seven-month consecutive retention period are met, payment will be released.

51 marts using new €uro-Star/EBI display boards

According to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), further work is taking place to have all of the country’s marts fitted with at least one new board that can display €uro-Star and Economic Breeding Index (EBI) info.

“There are currently 51 marts displaying €uro-Star / EBI figures on animals. The installation of these mart boards is still an ongoing process, so there will be more and more marts displaying figures in the future,” the ICBF said.

The €uro-Star rating system and the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) are inextricably linked. If a farmer who is participating in the BDGP wants to buy a replacement female for his or her herd that is either four- or five-star rated, the new boards will show the €uro-Star value of that animal as long as the animal is coming from a herd that is participating in the BDGP or is signed up to the ICBF’s HerdPlus facility.

In May, the Department of Agriculture announced it was rolling out a grant system for marts to buy the new boards, with approximately 40 marts applying for funding. The Department set aside €300,000 under state aid for funding up to 40% of the purchase cost of new electronic data display screens. The total depends on the software and screen already present and could cost upwards of €10,000 if an entire new facility is required.

Significant interest in planned low-cost loan scheme

There has been significant interest in the new low-cost loans that will be available to farmers early in the new year. This is primarily a cashflow support facility to improve the working capital position of farms.

The loans can be used to pay down expensive forms of credit, such as merchant credit and other short-term financing facilities.

The loans may not be used for refinancing existing term loans or new investments or buildings.

However, by improving the cashflow position of their business through use of this facility, many farmers will be in a better position to negotiate and restructure existing loan commitments.

The loans will be for amounts up to €150,000 for up to six years. The interest rate is fixed at 2.95% with interest only facilities of up to three years.

Normal lending assessment criteria will apply, although the loans will be unsecured in nature, thereby facilitating a more straightforward application process.