Did you know the Department of Agriculture is holding BISS clinics all over the country these days? Any farmer can rock up and receive assistance to complete their application.

Seven have been completed, in Ennis, Oranmore, Athlone, Tuam, Ballina, Enniscorthy and Killarney. Attendances have varied – Ballina was packed out the door, whereas the afternoon session in Enniscorthy saw farmers occupy only half the eight helpdesks.

Perhaps that’s because farmers with larger average holdings are clients of Teagasc or a private planner. I’ve been keeping an ear out, and what’s coming back is that farmers who have attended were glad they did, irrespective of farm size or enterprise. One farmer recounted how he showed the Department official where a cow roadway had been marked as ineligible, but was now back in grass, as cows were no longer being milked.

The parcel was amended on the spot so the paperwork now matches the reality. It put over an acre of ground back in, which the farmer said would make a difference to them.

Another attended to find out why their payment dropped so much over the last two years, only to find they had not applied for eco-schemes in 2023 or 2024.

The Department official was able to complete that process straightaway, as the farmer had enough space for nature to qualify as both qualifying actions.

Yet another received assistance in how to properly send geo-tagged photographs taken last autumn to trigger payment for the Baling Assistance Payment – a phone setting needed turning on.

This is a great free service for farmers, and takes pressure off overworked planners who can’t cope with 130,000 BISS applications.

There is another dividend. The BISS and associated schemes application system is complex. People make mistakes all the time. There is help available from the Department online and by phone. But a phone conversation is not the same as sitting face to face with somebody where you can both look at the details of an application or a map on the screen.

Not only are your issues addressed and problems hopefully resolved, you also are addressing a person rather than a system, and your fears can be dissolved. Any apprehension and confusion can be allayed, not just on the day, but going forward.

The BISS clinics continue, with today’s (Thursday 16 April) in Limerick. They proceed to Trim, Donegal Town, Drumshanbo, Carrickmacross, Cavan, Clonmel, and Mitchelstown before finishing in Clonakilty on 8 May. Try to get to one if you can, they really are an invaluable service.