Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that expanding the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS) would cost the State €120 million. The TCIS which is part of the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides financial support to farmers to help them achieve improved competitiveness, increased efficiency, growth and environmental benefits. It is open to farmers who have a minimum of 15ha of owned, leased or rented lands declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), or equivalent, in the year of application or precedi ..read more

Almost 70% of land purchases are made by dairy farmers according to a report just published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and Teagasc. The ‘Annual Agricultural Land Market Review & Outlook 2024’ offers insights into land selling prices and rental rates, highlighting key trends within the land market. This survey was completed by chartered surveyors operating in the auctioning, private treaty sale, tendering and land rental transactions, including those who provide specialist valuation services to clients. Dairy sector The number one main buyer type for grassland wer ..read more

Farmland values nationally are forecast to increase by 6% on average this year, mainly due to an expected recovery in milk prices and continuing strong demand from farmers and investors, a new report has found. In 2024, rental prices are expected to increase by 4%, according to the Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook Report 2024  by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and Teagasc published today (Tuesday, April 23). In Munster, average rental prices are expected to rise by 7% while in Connacht/Ulster an increase of 6% is forecast. In contrast, SCSI agents expect ave ..read more

Significant numbers of tillage farmers may well seek to grow forage crops as part of their spring planting mix in 2024. Almost certainly, this will lead to a considerable increase in the area of forage maize, fodder beet and wholecrop silages drilled from this week onwards. However, Teagasc is strongly cautioning the growing of such crops on a speculative basis. A very simple rule-of-thumb comes into play, being ‘know your final buyer before you plant’. In other words, having a contract in place, with clear terms and a binding payment structure – is a must. Contract cropping constitutes an a ..read more

With many farmers still unable to get housed stock back onto grass due to the prolonged spell of wet weather and poor ground conditions, some dairy farmers have expressed concerns over turnout running into breeding season, especially where maiden heifers are concerned. That’s according to Stuart Childs, dairy specialist with Teagasc, who addressed the issue on the latest episode of Dairy Edge podcast. “In reality, the vast majority of heifers are still in the shed. The forecast is only just starting to show signs of improvement…There hasn’t been the opportunity really to turn them out,” he sa ..read more

The sunshine and warm weather finally arrived to most parts of the country over the weekend, and farmers in many areas took the opportunity to get an application of fertiliser out on their ground for first-cut silage. Some farmers in drier parts of the country even managed to take out a few surplus paddocks that had high grass covers for a cut of bale silage. With winter feeding still continuing in many parts of the country, many farmers have yet to assess what course of action they will take as regards silage cutting this year. Before coming to a decision, farmers should first assess their g ..read more

By Gordon Deegan One farm family has said that a planned 50MW wind farm for their area in southeast Clare “feels like an assault on the community and the very fabric of rural life”. Mary, James and Noel Fitzgerald are members of a farm family from Oatfield, Sixmilebridge, who are objecting to plans for a new 12-turbine wind farm that will be located 3km northwest of Limerick city. To date, An Bord Pleanála received 74 third-party submissions with the bulk opposed to the wind farm which is proposed for a 105ha site neighbouring the townland of Ballycar, north of Meelick in ..read more

In a surprise development which has not been widely reported outside of Sweden, CNH has divested itself of its Overum plough business to the German investment company FairCap. In a statement issued on the April 15, CNH noted that it has finalised the sale of the agricultural plough business to FairCap. The transaction includes the factory – employing 70 staff, the intellectual property and inventory relating to the product line. The statement goes on to note that Overum is a subsidiary of Kongskilde, a brand which was acquired by CNH in 2017. The reason given for the sale by CNH is that it in ..read more

The eighth tranche of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) Higher Level, is open for applications from Wednesday, May 1 until Friday, May 17. This is a voluntary scheme which supports farmers to implement environmentally beneficial actions and works on their land. It aims to protect and enhance biodiversity and water quality and mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon. EFS Higher Level provides participants to the scheme with payments to bring the most important sites under favourable management. This includes land in a ..read more

Some farmers importing slurry under the 70% grant aid for slurry storage – which was announced in Budget 2024 – will have to carry out soil sampling as part of the conditions of the aid. The European Commission has approved an amendment to Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan, allowing the inclusion of the new Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme (NISS) under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS). The scheme is aimed at providing additional storage facilities on farm for managing the importation of organic fertiliser. It will provide support of 70% of the i ..read more