All applications to Straw Incorporation Measure accepted
Farmers can withdraw from the scheme at this point where they have identified a need for the straw. File picture
All applicants of the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) have been accepted into the scheme for 2026.
Commenting on the announcement, agriculture minister Martin Heydon said: “The Straw Incorporation Measure has again proven to be a very popular scheme with tillage farmers, with over 73,000 hectares of cereals and oilseed rape straw submitted for chopping and incorporating in 2026. The claims submitted are, however, in excess of the €10m budget for the scheme.”
The minister said he will “seek to identify the extra funding” to accommodate all applicants of the scheme as the measure brings benefits to farmers and aids environmental sustainability of the sector.
Mr Heydon said: “While farmers will receive their acceptance letters for SIM in the coming days, it is possible for farmers to withdraw from the scheme at this point where they have identified a need for the straw.”
Farmers wishing to contact the department regarding their Straw Incorporation payment can ring the Direct Payments Helpline at 057-8674422 or by email to Tillage@agriculture.gov.ie
The IFA National grain chair, John Murphy, said Minister Heydon must secure the extra funding needed to meet the demand for the SIM scheme.
“I acknowledge the announcement that all applicants have been accepted. We made the point to the minister at our meeting three weeks ago that it must be at the rate that applied in the past. We cannot have any reduction as this would be a blow to tillage growers who are under immense pressure.
"Winter crops have been harvested, and the main harvest is likely to get underway ahead of schedule. Growers need certainty that funding will be there to meet the demand in full,” Mr Murphy explained.
Mr Murphy says SIM continues to be a highly successful agri-environment scheme which helps incentivise farmers for returning organic matter to the soil.
Read More
“It also interacts with the wider straw market; it plays a role in maintaining the straw supply & demand balance; and it provides support for tillage farmers,” he said.
Mr Murphy explained the measure has been oversubscribed every year since 2023 and that the minister found additional funding in 2025, so the number of applications should not be a huge shock.
“In response to a parliamentary question in May, Taoiseach Micheál Martin accepted that the Government needs to do more to support the tillage sector… Given the extremely low margins in tillage and the importance of SIM to tillage incomes, it’s vital that the Minister secures the additional funds needed for the scheme in 2026,” the IFA grain chair concluded.
A spokesperson for IGGG said: “We welcome the minister’s commitment today to pay SIM in full. IGGG worked for weeks to get this result over the line.
The delay in the announcement has to be noted, though, with the harvest well on the way, with many farmers having to decide whether to incorporate the straw or not, knowing their position of acceptance into the measure or not.”
Concluding, they said: “The straw market can be described as ‘firm’ currently, with excellent quality straw available this year.”
