There’s some news for the tillage sector as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have announced the commencement of payments for the Tillage Incentive Scheme and the Straw Incorporation Measure.
Payments for the 2023 Tillage Incentive Scheme amounting to €7.3 million and will be issued to 2,626 farmers. The Tillage Incentive Scheme was introduced in 2022 as part of a package of supports in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was designed to encourage domestic farmers to grow tillage crops and reduce Irish dependency on imported animal feed and to also maintain this extra tillage area in 2023. Farmers are paid €200 for each eligible hectare that has been maintained in tillage following conversion in 2022 and €400 for each eligible hectare that is newly converted to tillage in 2023.
Payments totalling €12.3 million have also begun for the 2023 Straw Incorporation Scheme. Payments under this scheme are aimed to provide financial support for tillage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal crops. The Straw Incorporation Measure has been very popular with tillage farmers and 2023 had saw a large number of hectares applied to be incorporated. In recognition of the value straw incorporation delivers in terms of carbon sequestration, Minister McConalogue provided additional funding in support of the increased land area.
For more information about the tillage sector and the aforementioned scheme and measure, please follow the links below: