Greening: 30% of single payment can be held

On ‘greening’ in the new CAP, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has confirmed that 30% of a farmer’s single farm payment will be held back until he or she can demonstrate that basic environmental benchmarks have been met in the production of food.

However, the vast majority (80%) of Irish farmers will automatically qualify for the greening payment. If more than 75% of one’s land is in permanent pasture, one will automatically qualify under the green-by-definition rule, as long as one does not have more than 30 hectares of arable land, which most mixed farms would not have.

Farmers who do not automatically qualify must protect permanent pasture, within reason. They must have crop diversity, with at least two crops up to a certain threshold, and three crops thereafter.