ACRES decision letters to be issued over the coming days
Decision letters will be issued to farmers over the coming days.
Decision letters regarding time-sensitive actions under the co-operation approach of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be issued to farmers over the coming days.
Agriculture minister Martin Heydon, said: “Landscape actions are voluntary environmental actions in respect of which farmers in the ACRES co-operation may apply for funding towards their implementation.”
If a farmer’s application is approved, the implementation of those actions should enhance the environmental status of their holding and, in turn, lead to an increase in their results-based payments under ACRES.
The second application window for the submission of landscape action applications opened on 11 February 11 and will not close until May 28.
The minister said: “The decision letters being issued this week are, however, in respect of a batch of the applications submitted since February 2026, where there is a specific timeframe in which the action should be undertaken. The issue of the decisions for these time-sensitive actions is to enable the participants to undertake the relevant action at the earliest opportunity within the ideal time frame.”
The minister said all applications for landscape actions have to undergo environmental screening, so it is estimated decision letters will be issued in the third quarter of this year in respect of the remaining applications submitted to date, plus those that may be submitted up to May 28.
Mr Heydon said the phased issue of decisions letters on landscape actions applications will help maintain momentum in their implementation so benefits can be derived as soon as possible.
“While the current landscape action application window will close on 28 May 2026, it is proposed that another application window for landscape actions will open later this year.
"I therefore again encourage farmers who are participating in the co-operation approach of ACRES to engage with their local ACRES co-operation project team to identify the opportunities available to them in the form of landscape actions appropriate to their lands.”
