Budget 2024 - the farming scheme angle
Budget 2024 was made public yesterday, October 10, by the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and it contained a number of important measures for the farming sector, including the provision of funding for schemes next year.
Livestock sector supports
Of note was €113 million of targeted supports for the beef and sheep sectors, which will see suckler farmers supported to the tune of €200/cow, similar to the supports available in 2023 under schemes such as the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) and the National Beef Welfare Scheme.
Launched in August as a one year scheme and a replacement to BEEP-S, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has now stated that the National Beef Welfare Scheme will continue in 2024. Having been funded through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve this year, the programme will operate with national funding in 2024.
Additional supports have also been announced for the sheep sector, bringing the payment per ewe from €12/ewe in 2023 to €20/ewe in 2024. As of yet, it is unclear what actions farmers will have to take above and beyond the Sheep Improvement Scheme to avail of this additional €8/ewe of funding.
€5m in funding has also been allocated to the National Genotyping Programme. Launched earlier this year, this programme was initially supported by the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, but funding will be made available from the National Exchequer from 2024. This programme subsidies the cost of genotyping herds for both beef and dairy farmers.
A funding allocation of €6.5m for a dairy beef scheme was also announced. It is anticipated that this funding will be used to support a scheme similar to the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme, which was launched in March 2023.
50,000 to participant in ACRES
Total funding of €200m was announced for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) in 2024 – an increase of €40m – meaning that 50,000 farmers can participate in the environmental programme under tranche 1 and the soon to be opened tranche 2.
Also read: Consider joining ACRES 2 to get up to €7,311 per year for 5 years
Schemes for soil sampling and multispecies swards
Schemes to support soil sampling and the establishment of multispecies swards will also continue in 2024. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is targeting the taking of 90,000 soil samples over the next 12 to 18 months to facilitate optimum nutrient management planning. For the Soil Sampling Scheme and the Farm Environmental Scheme, funding of €13.3 million has been set aside.
Organic supports
€57 million has been allocated to the Organic Farming Scheme for 2024 – a doubling of the budget – which will mean more farmers interested in perusing organic farming can do so once the Organic Farming Scheme opens to applications later this year. This budget will also support farmers already engaging in organics who are eligible for support.
Forestry Programme
Funding of €110 million has been allocated for forestry next year. This will form part of the €1.3 billion committed to the new Forestry Programme for the period of 2023 to 2027.
The Forestry Programme includes strong financial incentives for the variety of forest options available (called forest types), each with their own silvicultural, environmental and practical objectives. There are planting options suitable for all farms, regardless of enterprise or scale. These include native woodland, agroforestry (combining farming and trees in the same fields) and the more commercially-focused conifer and broadleaf options. There are also attractive options for planting smaller areas under the new Native Tree Area Scheme.
Following the publication of Budget 2024, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has also stated that farmers affected by ash dieback will be supported through the Forestry Programme following receipt of the Report of the Independent Review Group by Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett.
TAMS changes
Budget 2024 has also allowed scope for changes in a number Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) measures to be introduced. This is occurring to support farmers in their efforts to improve water quality through investment in on-farm nutrient storage and in the context of dealing with the Nitrates Derogation changes.
Some of these changes include the introduction of a separate investment ceiling for all farmers building additional storage facilities on farm beyond regulatory compliance. However, this is dependent on approval from the European Commission. A dedicated support measure to provide 70% support for manure storage facilities on farms importing livestock manure under a contract relationship is also sought to be introduced.
Additional measures
Along with the above, €8 million of funding has been allocated to a tillage farming support, €14.35 million has been allocated to support the National Strategy for Horticulture and €2.5 million has been set aside to support farm safety initiatives.