Some 450 farmers are being paid to block drains, put drinking troughs in fields and fence watercourses to protect a rare shellfish in Irish rivers.
Farmers can complete a range of voluntary actions and receive over €4,000 in payments in the Pearl Mussel Project, depending on what actions they complete to protect the habitat of the freshwater pearl mussel.
There are no clawbacks or penalties in the scheme and farmers are in control, Mary McAndrew, catchment officer for the west and northwest for the project, told the Irish Farmers Journal.
How does the scheme work?
Farmland habitats including peatland, grassland and woodland are used as result indicators and the higher the quality of these habitats the higher the payments farmers receive, McAndrew said.
Each habitat is scored out of 10.
“Fields scoring less than four out of 10 don’t receive any payment – why would you pay for a product or service that isn’t delivering?
“This approach has the effect of creating a market for biodiversity and provides an opportunity and incentive for farmers to manage their habitats to a higher quality,” she said.
Payments are for results achieved; the quality of the habitats, a large range of supporting actions, such as the provision of drinking troughs, drain-blocking, and stock management, and these are financed through the programme to assist farmers achieve higher scores.
The approach allows for a high level of flexibility for the farmer
“This means maintenance and improvements are within the farmer’s control and allows flexibility to farm. So in results-based projects, a farmer’s investment in the environment or in the ecosystem services their land provides, will generally mean a higher annual return in the Pearl Mussel Project payments,” she said.
What actions do farmers need to carry out?
McAndrew said that farmers do not need to do anything to take part in the scheme.
“Being a results-based agri-environment scheme (RBAPS), payments relate to the quality of the habitats on their farm. Depending on the payment levels a farmer achieves, they may decide to undertake certain one-off actions to improve their score and their payment.
“The approach allows for a high level of flexibility for the farmer. The farmer can choose how they manage their lands in order to achieve the result,” she said.
Payments
Farmers in the scheme can receive a payment of up to €225/ha/year under the scheme plus additional payments for those on floodplains and supporting actions.
Habitat scorecards are marked for various aspects of the habitat which reflect quality such as plant species, vegetation structure, wetness, exposed soil and damaging activities.
Derek McLoughlin, assistant project manager, and Mary Mc Andrew, catchment officer, of the Pearl Mussel Project.\David Ruffles
There is an element of front-loaded payments in the scheme.
In calculating results-based payments, the lowest scoring lands (for example, those scoring five out of 10) will be paid at the highest rate.
“This adds a strong incentive to improve lower-scoring lands as any increase in habitat quality (score) will be paid at the highest rate.
“The same payment rates apply to private lands and commonage lands. In the case of commonages, the payment bands are applied at the LPIS parcel level,” according to the project.
There is also a floodplain payment which rewards farmers for maintaining floodplains and riparian habitats along rivers which contain the mussel.
Carbon and rainfall monitors on John O'Sullivan's farm in Co Galway. \ David Ruffles
Payments vary according to habitat quality, with the maximum payment here set at €700 for over 1000m of river which scored 10 out of 10.
Farmers in control
The biggest thing in the scheme is that the farmer is in control, McAndrew said.
“There are no penalties or clawbacks in the scheme. It’s not like GLAS. The farmers’ habitats are assessed every year and any changes are picked up on the scorecard,” she said. Giving an example, she said a farmer with a regular grass field may score six out of 10 this year but if he wants to carry out drainage in order to take bales off it next year, he can do that. If he carries out the drainage, he will be marked down and he will lose money on the plot in the project but he might gain 10 more bales of silage as a result and that could be worth more to him.
The freshwater pearl mussel is an endangered species \ Pearl Mussel Project
“It’s completely within the farmers’ control. They have access to the scorecard and they receive training,” she said.
Results
McAndrew said that with a species like the freshwater pearl mussel, it is very difficult to show the impacts in the short-term.
However, within a single year of full operation, considerable benefits are evident on the ground.
“Over 75ha of peatland habitat has been rewetted, resulting in a large increase in the quality and payments for these lands, while not affecting the farming practices here.
“We anticipate increasing scores and payments going to most of our farmers in 2020, many of whom are delighted to receive voluntary advice on the management of their farm, rather than prohibition and penalty, that has often been associated with SACs.”
McAndrew is very hopeful for the future results of the project and at the backend of this year the results to date will be assessed.
What is the Pearl Mussel Project?
The project is a six-year project which began in May 2018 and is financed by the Department of Agriculture.
Local farmers, researchers and advisers work together to develop a programme to ensure long-term coexistence of farming and freshwater pearl mussel in the top eight catchments in Ireland.
Freshwater pearl mussel.
Although the primary target of the programme is the freshwater pearl mussel, the scheme has been designed to ensure the highest scores and payments go to those who provide the best in terms of carbon storage and sequestration, clean water and biodiversity. Assistant project manager Dr Derek McLoughlin said the focus of the Pearl Mussel Project is on reward for ecosystem services, rather than restriction and penalty.
“One farmer at one meeting remarked: ‘It’s the first time we have been told what we can do with our land rather than what we can’t do’,” he said.
What is the freshwater pearl mussel?
The freshwater pearl mussel is a large filter-feeding bivalve, which is found in near-pristine freshwater habitats.
They can survive for up to 140 years, making them Ireland’s longest-living animal. The mussel is one of the 365 most endangered species in the world and is protected under the Habitats Directive.
Mary McAndrew said that the European freshwater pearl mussel populations have declined by 90% over the past century.
Canary in the mine
“In Ireland, 27 freshwater pearl mussel populations are protected within Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). Eight of these populations contain 80% of the national Irish freshwater pearl mussel population, and are known as the top eight catchments.
These catchments are:
Blackwater, Co Kerry.Bundorragha, Co Mayo.Caragh, Co Kerry.Currane, Co Kerry.Dawros, Co Galway. Glaskeelan, Co Donegal.Ownagappul, Co Cork.Owenriff, Co Galway.Extinction
“While the top eight catchments have some of the highest remaining numbers of freshwater pearl mussels in Ireland, these populations are also undergoing a slow decline and face extinction unless action is taken.
“Freshwater pearl mussels are indicators of the catchments of the highest ecological quality.
“They are like the canary in the mine – if they disappear, we don’t have other warning signals of our high water quality, which has declined 10-fold since the 1980s,” she said.
John O'Sullivan farms Connemara Blackface sheep in Glengowla, Oughterard. \ David Ruffles
John O’Sullivan,
Glengowla, Oughterard, Co Galway – Owenriff catchment
John O’Sullivan runs a sheep farm with his father. They have completed 2km of drain blocking on peatland.
“The primary reason I joined the scheme was awareness over the past, while in the future environmental criteria will be a major focus in CAP payments for the farm,” O’Sullivan said.
“Additionally, the payment mechanisms in place which are proportional to the quality of the habitat do provide a good return and an opportunity to improve the land.
“In my opinion, the scheme is very worthwhile. It was a matter of getting to understand the scheme, attending training on a neighbour’s farm to understand the criteria that drive payments and then to sign up to the scheme. That was quite straightforward. During the past 12 months, some of my plots scored very low because of the absence of habitat and degraded bog and in that instance we had to do some drain blocking to improve the payments for this coming year.”
Tom Keane keeps Connemara Blackface sheep in Currywongaun, Letterfrack, Co Galway. \ David Ruffles
Tom Keane,
Currywongaun, Letterfrack, Co Galway – Dawros catchment
Catchment officer Mary McAndrew said Tom Keane, a sheep farmer, is one of the top scoring farmers in the project and that his farm is a great example of what can be achieved when you work with the land. “I just had a great interest in the mussels overtime. I always had,” Keane told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“They’ve always been there and we used to pick them when we were kids. We’d like to do whatever we could to keep them. My uncle got £10 for one of them before World War I. He went to America on it.
“I didn’t have to do a lot really [to receive the payment], block a few drains, try to get rid of some of the rhododendrons, a tough task and keep the land in good condition, not to be letting too much rubbish into your drains.”
Read more
What the Department plans to target in the next CAP
Schemes update: keeping abreast of your stocking rate for ANC payments
'Organic light' will not cut it with farmers or Commission
Some 450 farmers are being paid to block drains, put drinking troughs in fields and fence watercourses to protect a rare shellfish in Irish rivers.
Farmers can complete a range of voluntary actions and receive over €4,000 in payments in the Pearl Mussel Project, depending on what actions they complete to protect the habitat of the freshwater pearl mussel.
There are no clawbacks or penalties in the scheme and farmers are in control, Mary McAndrew, catchment officer for the west and northwest for the project, told the Irish Farmers Journal.
How does the scheme work?
Farmland habitats including peatland, grassland and woodland are used as result indicators and the higher the quality of these habitats the higher the payments farmers receive, McAndrew said.
Each habitat is scored out of 10.
“Fields scoring less than four out of 10 don’t receive any payment – why would you pay for a product or service that isn’t delivering?
“This approach has the effect of creating a market for biodiversity and provides an opportunity and incentive for farmers to manage their habitats to a higher quality,” she said.
Payments are for results achieved; the quality of the habitats, a large range of supporting actions, such as the provision of drinking troughs, drain-blocking, and stock management, and these are financed through the programme to assist farmers achieve higher scores.
The approach allows for a high level of flexibility for the farmer
“This means maintenance and improvements are within the farmer’s control and allows flexibility to farm. So in results-based projects, a farmer’s investment in the environment or in the ecosystem services their land provides, will generally mean a higher annual return in the Pearl Mussel Project payments,” she said.
What actions do farmers need to carry out?
McAndrew said that farmers do not need to do anything to take part in the scheme.
“Being a results-based agri-environment scheme (RBAPS), payments relate to the quality of the habitats on their farm. Depending on the payment levels a farmer achieves, they may decide to undertake certain one-off actions to improve their score and their payment.
“The approach allows for a high level of flexibility for the farmer. The farmer can choose how they manage their lands in order to achieve the result,” she said.
Payments
Farmers in the scheme can receive a payment of up to €225/ha/year under the scheme plus additional payments for those on floodplains and supporting actions.
Habitat scorecards are marked for various aspects of the habitat which reflect quality such as plant species, vegetation structure, wetness, exposed soil and damaging activities.
Derek McLoughlin, assistant project manager, and Mary Mc Andrew, catchment officer, of the Pearl Mussel Project.\David Ruffles
There is an element of front-loaded payments in the scheme.
In calculating results-based payments, the lowest scoring lands (for example, those scoring five out of 10) will be paid at the highest rate.
“This adds a strong incentive to improve lower-scoring lands as any increase in habitat quality (score) will be paid at the highest rate.
“The same payment rates apply to private lands and commonage lands. In the case of commonages, the payment bands are applied at the LPIS parcel level,” according to the project.
There is also a floodplain payment which rewards farmers for maintaining floodplains and riparian habitats along rivers which contain the mussel.
Carbon and rainfall monitors on John O'Sullivan's farm in Co Galway. \ David Ruffles
Payments vary according to habitat quality, with the maximum payment here set at €700 for over 1000m of river which scored 10 out of 10.
Farmers in control
The biggest thing in the scheme is that the farmer is in control, McAndrew said.
“There are no penalties or clawbacks in the scheme. It’s not like GLAS. The farmers’ habitats are assessed every year and any changes are picked up on the scorecard,” she said. Giving an example, she said a farmer with a regular grass field may score six out of 10 this year but if he wants to carry out drainage in order to take bales off it next year, he can do that. If he carries out the drainage, he will be marked down and he will lose money on the plot in the project but he might gain 10 more bales of silage as a result and that could be worth more to him.
The freshwater pearl mussel is an endangered species \ Pearl Mussel Project
“It’s completely within the farmers’ control. They have access to the scorecard and they receive training,” she said.
Results
McAndrew said that with a species like the freshwater pearl mussel, it is very difficult to show the impacts in the short-term.
However, within a single year of full operation, considerable benefits are evident on the ground.
“Over 75ha of peatland habitat has been rewetted, resulting in a large increase in the quality and payments for these lands, while not affecting the farming practices here.
“We anticipate increasing scores and payments going to most of our farmers in 2020, many of whom are delighted to receive voluntary advice on the management of their farm, rather than prohibition and penalty, that has often been associated with SACs.”
McAndrew is very hopeful for the future results of the project and at the backend of this year the results to date will be assessed.
What is the Pearl Mussel Project?
The project is a six-year project which began in May 2018 and is financed by the Department of Agriculture.
Local farmers, researchers and advisers work together to develop a programme to ensure long-term coexistence of farming and freshwater pearl mussel in the top eight catchments in Ireland.
Freshwater pearl mussel.
Although the primary target of the programme is the freshwater pearl mussel, the scheme has been designed to ensure the highest scores and payments go to those who provide the best in terms of carbon storage and sequestration, clean water and biodiversity. Assistant project manager Dr Derek McLoughlin said the focus of the Pearl Mussel Project is on reward for ecosystem services, rather than restriction and penalty.
“One farmer at one meeting remarked: ‘It’s the first time we have been told what we can do with our land rather than what we can’t do’,” he said.
What is the freshwater pearl mussel?
The freshwater pearl mussel is a large filter-feeding bivalve, which is found in near-pristine freshwater habitats.
They can survive for up to 140 years, making them Ireland’s longest-living animal. The mussel is one of the 365 most endangered species in the world and is protected under the Habitats Directive.
Mary McAndrew said that the European freshwater pearl mussel populations have declined by 90% over the past century.
Canary in the mine
“In Ireland, 27 freshwater pearl mussel populations are protected within Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). Eight of these populations contain 80% of the national Irish freshwater pearl mussel population, and are known as the top eight catchments.
These catchments are:
Blackwater, Co Kerry.Bundorragha, Co Mayo.Caragh, Co Kerry.Currane, Co Kerry.Dawros, Co Galway. Glaskeelan, Co Donegal.Ownagappul, Co Cork.Owenriff, Co Galway.Extinction
“While the top eight catchments have some of the highest remaining numbers of freshwater pearl mussels in Ireland, these populations are also undergoing a slow decline and face extinction unless action is taken.
“Freshwater pearl mussels are indicators of the catchments of the highest ecological quality.
“They are like the canary in the mine – if they disappear, we don’t have other warning signals of our high water quality, which has declined 10-fold since the 1980s,” she said.
John O'Sullivan farms Connemara Blackface sheep in Glengowla, Oughterard. \ David Ruffles
John O’Sullivan,
Glengowla, Oughterard, Co Galway – Owenriff catchment
John O’Sullivan runs a sheep farm with his father. They have completed 2km of drain blocking on peatland.
“The primary reason I joined the scheme was awareness over the past, while in the future environmental criteria will be a major focus in CAP payments for the farm,” O’Sullivan said.
“Additionally, the payment mechanisms in place which are proportional to the quality of the habitat do provide a good return and an opportunity to improve the land.
“In my opinion, the scheme is very worthwhile. It was a matter of getting to understand the scheme, attending training on a neighbour’s farm to understand the criteria that drive payments and then to sign up to the scheme. That was quite straightforward. During the past 12 months, some of my plots scored very low because of the absence of habitat and degraded bog and in that instance we had to do some drain blocking to improve the payments for this coming year.”
Tom Keane keeps Connemara Blackface sheep in Currywongaun, Letterfrack, Co Galway. \ David Ruffles
Tom Keane,
Currywongaun, Letterfrack, Co Galway – Dawros catchment
Catchment officer Mary McAndrew said Tom Keane, a sheep farmer, is one of the top scoring farmers in the project and that his farm is a great example of what can be achieved when you work with the land. “I just had a great interest in the mussels overtime. I always had,” Keane told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“They’ve always been there and we used to pick them when we were kids. We’d like to do whatever we could to keep them. My uncle got £10 for one of them before World War I. He went to America on it.
“I didn’t have to do a lot really [to receive the payment], block a few drains, try to get rid of some of the rhododendrons, a tough task and keep the land in good condition, not to be letting too much rubbish into your drains.”
Read more
What the Department plans to target in the next CAP
Schemes update: keeping abreast of your stocking rate for ANC payments
'Organic light' will not cut it with farmers or Commission
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: