Force majeure highlighted by Agriculture Appeals Office in Irish farm scheme payments

The published case studies involved force majeure, which is a legal clause in a contract to excuse one or both parties from performance due to the occurrence of events beyond their control.

A herdowner said they made every effort to meet the requirements of SCEP.

It’s a sign of the unpredictability of Irish farming that events beyond one’s control sometimes land participants in Department of Agriculture schemes in trouble.

This is illustrated in the recently published 2025 Annual Report of the Agriculture Appeals Office.