Sheep farmers invited to apply for €1.5m fund for mountain fencing

Funding of at least €1.5m will be available for the final tranche of mountain sheep fencing.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney unveiled a funding call yesterday, inviting sheep farmers to apply from Oct 1, with the application window to close on Dec 31. Some new changes will also take effect from Oct 1, with increased reference costs for the erection of certain types of sheep fencing in mountainous areas.

The minister said he was aware that some farmers in mountainous areas faced additional costs when erecting sheep fencing. The increase in the department’s reference costs is intended to encourage those farmers to participate in the sheep fencing scheme.