€12.3m in payments for farmers under Straw Incorporation Measure
The scheme is designed to provide financial support for tillage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal crops.
€12.3m in payments under the Straw Incorporation Measure will be visible in farmers' bank accounts in the coming days.
The scheme is designed to provide financial support for tillage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal crops.
In 2023, the rate has been set at €250 per hectare for oats, wheat, barley, and rye, and a lower rate of €150 for oilseed rape straw.
The Straw Incorporation Measure is a new scheme under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan.
"This scheme follows on from a successful two-year pilot in operation during 2021 and 2022," Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said.
"The Straw Incorporation Measure has proved very popular with tillage farmers and 2023 had seen a significant uptake in the number of hectares applied to be incorporated."
€7.3m in payments under the Tillage Incentive Scheme are also being issued to 2,626 farmers.
The scheme was introduced in 2022 as part of a package of supports, in response to the illegal war in Ukraine.
"The scheme was introduced to encourage farmers to sow additional eligible tillage crops to help reduce the dependency on imported animal feed materials and thereafter to maintain this additional tillage area going forward into 2023," Mr McConalogue said.
