Budget 2025: what agri-schemes are in the mix?

Budget 2025 will be announced on Tuesday 1 October 2024. With a general election looming it will be interesting to see what measures the Government puts on the table to garner support. On the agricultural front the main focal areas are supports committed to agri-schemes and taxation measures.

Funding for main agri-schemes is outlined for the period 2023 to 2027 under the CAP Strategic Plan.

However there are a number of important schemes reliant solely on national exchequer funding and a number of schemes in the CAP Strategic Plan that require additional funding which must be accounted for in the Government’s annual budget.

This article takes a look at some of the main schemes in the mix and the likely outcome ahead of next Tuesday.

National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS)

The NBWS closed for applications this week with reports pointing to increased participation compared to over 16,000 farmers in 2023. Budget 2024 allocated €20m in funding to the scheme that rewards farmers for meal feeding pre- and- post-weaning and vaccination for pneumonia / clostridial disease.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has been keen to ensure a narrative of providing up to €200 support for suckler cows. In an era of suckler births plummeting and the aesthetics of supporting the suckler sector one can assume similar funding for 2025.

National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS)

The NSWS was a welcome new addition to Budget 2024 with funding of €15m and this was reflected in the figure of 17,167 farmers that applied. The scheme offers payment of €8 per ewe in lieu of farmers completing two actions from a list of actions including shearing, body condition scoring, clostridial disease vaccination and mobile plunge dipping. It satisfies the Government’s narrative of providing €20 support per ewe. Farm organisations are seeking upwards of €30 per ewe in direct scheme support but reports indicate it is likely the commitment for 2025 will be closer to last year’s allocation.

Tillage supports

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced in April 2024 that he was “absolutely committed” to increasing Ireland’s tillage area stating that despite constraints in his existing budget he “will work to deliver €100/ha in financial support for every farmer that puts seed in the soil for the harvest year 2024”.

There has been no further update on where funding will come from to make this happen. The majority of the €8m allocated to a tillage farming support in 2024 has already been utilised so we can only assume funding will be allocated in Budget 2025. There are approximately 343,000ha of crops potentially eligible. It is unknown if the 22,000ha of beans/combi crops is eligible if it is already receiving support under CAP. Either way funding of €32m to €35m will be required for the minister to follow through on his commitment. This leaves aside the €70m funding sought by the Food Vision Tillage Group.

Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES)

The funding model for ACRES is more complicated than other schemes with funding linked to the Government’s €1.5bn agri-environment fund, national exchequer funding and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan. Whichever the funding source, it is clear that additional funds will be required in Budget 2025. The Government committed €40m extra to ACRES in Budget 2024 bringing the total funding for 2024 to €200m. This was targeted at bringing the total number of participants to 50,000 but all tranche II applications were subsequently accepted bringing participation to approximately 55,000 holdings.

Organic Farming Scheme (OFS)

The rate of applications to the Organic Farming Scheme has been faster than anticipated with 5,000 farmers now farming organically or in conversion.

The Government’s target of 5% of utilisable agricultural area (UAA) farmed organically by 2025 has already been met but reports indicate there is an appetite to capitalise on the high levels of interest and make ground towards the 2027 target of 7.5% of UAA farmed organically and 10% by 2030.

To make this happen will require a budget greater than the €256m allocated over the lifetime of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. Some €57m was allocated in Budget 2024 but this was already outlined under the Programme for Government.

Speaking at the Irish Farmers Journal stand at the National Ploughing Championships, Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Senator Pippa Hackett, stated that she is looking for extra funding to allow the scheme to open for additional applicants in 2024.

Given the Green Party’s commitment to organic farming, one would expect that there is a high likelihood of more funding being allocated.

Multi-species swards and soil sampling

The Government has put a lot of support behind multispecies and red clover swards with funds allocated to promote the establishment of such crops in recent years. Reports indicate that support remains high and it is expected to continue in Budget 2025. Funding for these initiatives was allocated under the Farm Environmental Scheme banner in 2024 along with the Soil Sampling Scheme with a total of €13.3m allocated. The latter scheme has had variable success and the timeline outlined for collecting 90,000 samples was a 12 to 18 month window which is still in play. As such it is probable funding will be available for multispecies and clover swards at a minimum.

TAMS

There was much fanfare in Budget 2024 regarding the introduction of a separate scheme entry route to provide 70% grant aid for farmers importing slurry to invest in storage facilities. A separate investment ceiling for farmers to build slurry storage facilities beyond regulatory compliance was also lauded.

No new funding was allocated with these initiatives funded from the existing Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) funding and slow to get up and running. No new developments are expected in this area. Costs for the preliminary year of the National Genotyping programme (NGP) in 2023 were covered through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. Costs for the programme from 2024 to 2027 are covered by the Department of Agriculture, Dairy Industry Ireland, Meat Industry Ireland and participating farmers. Funding of €6.5m was allocated by the Department of Agriculture in Budget 2024 and a similar pot of money is likely to be allocated again in Budget 2025.

BVD testing support

A support package of €3.75m was announced in March 2024 to contribute to ongoing costs borne by farmers under the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea National Eradication Programme. Farmers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the ongoing costs and it is almost certain tissue tagging will continue in 2025.

Pressure is therefore building for a support package to contribute to costs.

Dairy calf-to-beef

Funding of €6.5m was allocated in Budget 2024 to fund remaining payments of the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme and contribute to the new CAP scheme. There are calls for the original scheme supporting farmers rearing dairy-beef calves to be revised but this does not seem to be gaining much traction among those holding the purse strings but hopes still remain.

Safety measures

Approximately €2.5m has been allocated to fund safety measures such as the National Farm Safety Measure. It seems a formality that such an important area will receive continued backing.

Forestry and horticulture

Forestry is a big ticket item receiving funding of €110m in Budget 2024. The funding was part of the €1.3bn committed to the Forestry Programme for the period 2023 to 2027 so expect further funding to be allocated in Budget 2025. The big area of contention here is funding for ash dieback with growers not impressed with the support package introduced. Ireland’s horticulture sector received funding of €14.35m to support the National Horticulture Strategy in 2024. With the sector facing ongoing challenges with costs it requires strong commitment again in Budget 2025.