Tillage farmers in certain parts of the country could be paid a total of €9,000 for growing cover crops on their farms.
Farmers who have land in what are called priority catchments where water quality improvements are needed can be paid for implementing measures to protect water quality on their farms.
The most effective measure to improve water quality on a tillage farm in the programme is planting cover crops.
Speaking at a winter cereals walk held by Quinns of Baltinglass last week Neilus Noonan explained that in the programme farmers will be paid €90/ac on up to 100ac of land or €225/ha on 40ha of land.
Neilus Noonan of Teagasc said this is €20/ac more than the payment under ACRES and the payment is also available on a bigger area of land.
Under ACRES you can be paid €70/ac on almost 50ac, or €173.20/ha on 20ha, totalling a maximum payment of €3,464.
Under the Farming for Water programme the cover crops have to be planted before the start of September and must remain in place until 1 January.
Another big advantage to the Farming for Water programme is that you can grow a cover crop between two winter crops and be paid €70/ac on 100ac, just €20/ac less than the over-winter cover crop. These crops must be planted by the end of July and remain in place until the 1 October.
Farmers can take part in both the Farming for Water programme and the ACRES catch crop measure, but different fields must be used for the two measures.
Farmers who take advantage of both schemes could plant as much as 150ac and receive payments totalling €12,464 for their cover crop area.
Specifications for seed under the Farming for Water programme are the same as ACRES so seed must have at least two species at the minimum rates outlined in the ACRES specifications.
It is recommended to have more than two species. Very importantly, if you join the scheme and you don’t get to plant your crops there is no penalty, so if you agree to plant 70ac and only get 10ac planted then you will be paid for planting the 10ac.
This is very important in years where weather leaves land in wet conditions or where farmers don’t get crops in due to time pressures.
Farmers should sign up to the programme by 15 June. In October farmers fill out a declaration form and a map to show the areas planted. There is a 5% chance of inspection.
This inspection is carried out by the local County Council.
LAWPRO, which is part of the County Councils, is responsible for payments and inspection.
Neilus advised farmers to keep dockets separate where farmers plant catch crops in both ACRES and the Farming for Water EIP.
All individual sets of nozzles fitted on a sprayer must be tested during a test.
He also noted that inspections under the Farming for Water EIP are separate to other County Council inspections.
So, an inspector in this scheme will only look at the catch crops or the other measures taken up.
A pilot scheme ran last year in the Castledockerell catchment in Co Wexford and over €1m worth of catch crops were planted in the scheme. Neilus said catch crops can soak up 60% more nitrogen than bare stubble. A poor catch crop can take up 30-40kg N/ha he said, while a good catch crop could take up as much as 80kg N/ha. “They are working. That’s the main reason we want them, so the nitrogen doesn’t get into the Slaney or the Barrow etc.”
Other measures available for tillage farmers in the scheme include arable margins, the use of a rainwater management plan, a nutrient management plan, the use of low-drift nozzles and the use of a mobile drip tray on a sprayer. You should talk to your local Teagasc adviser on the project.
You can get funding for rainwater harvesting and much more. The payment for low-drift nozzles is €5/nozzle on up to 20 nozzles.
The Farming for Water project is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and will be in place up to and including 2027, so farmers can avail of it for three more years. The project has a total budget of €60m. The EIP is under the jurisdiction of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) who work in partnership with Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland.
It is funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Do you qualify for the programme?
Farmers can see if their land qualifies to take part in the programme by clicking here and finding their farms on the map.
Blue signals that your land can enter the programme. You can also click on individual areas to see if they qualify.
In some cases, whole counties are included like Carlow and Kilkenny for example. However, some farmers may find that they do not qualify or that half of one field qualifies and the other half doesn’t.
In short
The Farming for Water EIP has a €60m budget.Farmers can be paid to grow catch crops.Payments and areas are greater than ACRES.There are a number of other measures available.Don’t miss out
Farmers should sign up by 15 June and can enter the area planted in October.
Tillage farmers in certain parts of the country could be paid a total of €9,000 for growing cover crops on their farms.
Farmers who have land in what are called priority catchments where water quality improvements are needed can be paid for implementing measures to protect water quality on their farms.
The most effective measure to improve water quality on a tillage farm in the programme is planting cover crops.
Speaking at a winter cereals walk held by Quinns of Baltinglass last week Neilus Noonan explained that in the programme farmers will be paid €90/ac on up to 100ac of land or €225/ha on 40ha of land.
Neilus Noonan of Teagasc said this is €20/ac more than the payment under ACRES and the payment is also available on a bigger area of land.
Under ACRES you can be paid €70/ac on almost 50ac, or €173.20/ha on 20ha, totalling a maximum payment of €3,464.
Under the Farming for Water programme the cover crops have to be planted before the start of September and must remain in place until 1 January.
Another big advantage to the Farming for Water programme is that you can grow a cover crop between two winter crops and be paid €70/ac on 100ac, just €20/ac less than the over-winter cover crop. These crops must be planted by the end of July and remain in place until the 1 October.
Farmers can take part in both the Farming for Water programme and the ACRES catch crop measure, but different fields must be used for the two measures.
Farmers who take advantage of both schemes could plant as much as 150ac and receive payments totalling €12,464 for their cover crop area.
Specifications for seed under the Farming for Water programme are the same as ACRES so seed must have at least two species at the minimum rates outlined in the ACRES specifications.
It is recommended to have more than two species. Very importantly, if you join the scheme and you don’t get to plant your crops there is no penalty, so if you agree to plant 70ac and only get 10ac planted then you will be paid for planting the 10ac.
This is very important in years where weather leaves land in wet conditions or where farmers don’t get crops in due to time pressures.
Farmers should sign up to the programme by 15 June. In October farmers fill out a declaration form and a map to show the areas planted. There is a 5% chance of inspection.
This inspection is carried out by the local County Council.
LAWPRO, which is part of the County Councils, is responsible for payments and inspection.
Neilus advised farmers to keep dockets separate where farmers plant catch crops in both ACRES and the Farming for Water EIP.
All individual sets of nozzles fitted on a sprayer must be tested during a test.
He also noted that inspections under the Farming for Water EIP are separate to other County Council inspections.
So, an inspector in this scheme will only look at the catch crops or the other measures taken up.
A pilot scheme ran last year in the Castledockerell catchment in Co Wexford and over €1m worth of catch crops were planted in the scheme. Neilus said catch crops can soak up 60% more nitrogen than bare stubble. A poor catch crop can take up 30-40kg N/ha he said, while a good catch crop could take up as much as 80kg N/ha. “They are working. That’s the main reason we want them, so the nitrogen doesn’t get into the Slaney or the Barrow etc.”
Other measures available for tillage farmers in the scheme include arable margins, the use of a rainwater management plan, a nutrient management plan, the use of low-drift nozzles and the use of a mobile drip tray on a sprayer. You should talk to your local Teagasc adviser on the project.
You can get funding for rainwater harvesting and much more. The payment for low-drift nozzles is €5/nozzle on up to 20 nozzles.
The Farming for Water project is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and will be in place up to and including 2027, so farmers can avail of it for three more years. The project has a total budget of €60m. The EIP is under the jurisdiction of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) who work in partnership with Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland.
It is funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Do you qualify for the programme?
Farmers can see if their land qualifies to take part in the programme by clicking here and finding their farms on the map.
Blue signals that your land can enter the programme. You can also click on individual areas to see if they qualify.
In some cases, whole counties are included like Carlow and Kilkenny for example. However, some farmers may find that they do not qualify or that half of one field qualifies and the other half doesn’t.
In short
The Farming for Water EIP has a €60m budget.Farmers can be paid to grow catch crops.Payments and areas are greater than ACRES.There are a number of other measures available.Don’t miss out
Farmers should sign up by 15 June and can enter the area planted in October.
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