The Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday that the application portals for the new Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF) and National Reserve schemes are now open for business. Both schemes were discussed at webinars delivered to farmers and advisers this week. The webinars explained the main workings of the schemes and highlighted new features introduced under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

Young farmers scheme

As touched on already, the young farmers scheme has been given a new name, the CIS-YF. The scheme has a significantly higher support payment of up to €175/ha, compared to the €67 given for every activated entitlement in the previous CAP. The payment is based on the number of eligible hectares, to a maximum of 50ha, rather than the number of entitlements a farmer possesses. This gives a potential payment of up to €8,750. Payment is dependent on farmers being eligible for payment under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), which replaces the Basic Payment Scheme. This means that an applicant must possess a minimum of one entitlement, or part of an entitlement, to receive payment under CIS-YF.

Applicants can draw down payments under the scheme for a maximum of five years. The payment rate of up to €175/ha is confirmed up until 2027, with payment rates thereafter dependent on conditions under the next CAP. Farmers participating in the existing young farmers scheme who have not yet completed their five-year term can transfer across to CIS-YF for the remainder of their five-year term and avail of the higher payments.

Eligibility criteria

Farmers can be no more than 40 years of age at the time of their first application, ie they can turn 40 in the first year of application, but if they turn 41 they are ineligible. They can only have set up their farming enterprise in the five years preceding their first application. With regards to educational requirements, the minimum qualification accepted is a Level 6 Agricultural Education course.

Financial and managerial control

The point was stressed on numerous conditions that to be eligible for payment, applicants to the CIS-YF must be able to demonstrate that they have financial and managerial control of the holding, either solely or jointly.

There is a new requirement at application stage to demonstrate financial control. Here applicants must submit a transaction invoice, associated transaction receipt and an extract from their bank account showing the day-to-day farm-related business transactions of the holding.

The name of the applicant must also be stated on the invoice, transaction receipt and all bank account documents submitted.

Demonstrating managerial control is certainly more straightforward when a young farmer is the sole operator. Young farmers participating in a group structure, such as a joint herd number, farm partnership or company will also be considered eligible if they can demonstrate that they exercise effective and long-term control, either solely or jointly, within the group with regard to decisions relating to management and financial risks of the group.

Factors used to demonstrate this include:

  • The young farmer’s name being present on the herd number.
  • The young farmer’s name being present on the bank account used to receive BISS and CIS-YF payments.
  • The young farmer is a director (in cases involving companies) and has the minimum of a 20% share in the company.
  • All members of the group have completed a declaration form confirming the young farmer has effective control, either solely or jointly, with the other members of the group. This declaration must be signed and stamped by a solicitor.
  • National reserve

    The National Reserve will provide eligible applicants with an allocation of payment entitlements, subject to a maximum of 50 eligible hectares, on which the applicant holds no entitlements (so-called ‘naked hectares’) and/or a top-up on the value of existing entitlements below the national average. The latter top-up will bring the value of entitlements up to the national average, which is expected to be approximately €155 unit value.

    Eligibility criteria

    It is important to point out that an applicant can only apply to the National Reserve once. As such, farmers should consider the best time to apply if they have additional lands coming under their control in subsequent years. There is no off-farm income limit.

    There are two types of applicants eligible for support: young, trained farmers and new entrants/new farmers.

    1 The age limit for young farmers is similar to that in the CIS-YF – an applicant must be 40 or under in the year of their first application.

    Again, they can only have set up their farming enterprise in the previous five years and require a minimum Level 6 Agricultural Education course. Applicants must submit a BISS application, but there is no requirement to possess entitlements.

    2 A new entrant/new farmer is someone who is setting up a farming enterprise for the first time or during the preceding three years. Applicants must have no agricultural activity in their own name and/or first-hand experience of any risk from a farming activity at any time prior to the preceding three-year period. There is no age limit, but a Level 6 Agricultural Education course is required, as is submission of a valid BISS application.

    Clampdown on bogus applications

    A new and serious concept known as circumvention has been highlighted in many of the Department information briefings. Circumvention is described as artificially creating the conditions to obtain benefit or, put in another way, getting around the rules to receive payment.

    The Department says the European Commission will be taking a much closer look at circumvention in this CAP and states that they are required to put in place mechanisms to monitor and identify such breaches. Examples of circumvention include splitting herds to avoid capping, the sale of entitlements to clear lands for the purpose of applying to the National Reserve, and applications to the young farmers scheme where the young farmer is not in financial or managerial control. There will be significant penalties for the farmer and possibly his/her adviser. For example, if a farmer is deemed guilty of circumvention under the CIS-YF, they will lose their payment and receive a penalty amounting to 100% of the payment they were due to receive.

  • The application portal for the young farmers scheme and National Reserve were opened this week by the Department of Agriculture.
  • The young farmers scheme offers payment of up to €175/ha on a maximum of 50 eligible hectares.
  • The National Reserve will allocate up to 50 entitlements at national average value (approx. €155) to successful applicants on lands for which the applicant holds no entitlements and/or will raise existing entitlements to the national average level.
  • Applicants need to ensure that their applications are valid, with circumvention posing significant penalties for the farmer and possibly their adviser if they are not.