Farmers who applied for the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) have finally been formally accepted into the scheme.

Farmers received a notification by text to their phone of a correspondence sent to their Agfood portal.

It confirms their entry to the scheme and reminds farmers of the requirement to chop straw, spread it evenly and incorporate it into the soil.

It stresses that ploughing without prior incorporation is not permitted.

The correspondence doesn't carry any information about the €175/ha payment should they opt to withdraw wheat barley or oaten straw from the scheme to bale it.

Confirmation

The confirmation comes after a fraught fortnight since Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced his intention to seek leave from the European Commission to suspend the scheme for 2024 to help alleviate a feared shortage of fodder and bedding.

At the time of the announcement, it was stated that no farmer had been accepted into the scheme, two months after the 15 May closing date for application into it.

Over 56,000ha was applied for, comprising 17,974ha of barley straw, 9,677ha of wheaten straw, 16,152ha of oaten straw, 320ha of rye straw and 12,020ha of OSR straw.