Foresty - Farmer premium

barndancer

Hi all,
I inherited land some years ago which is very marginal and I am in the process of getting about 12 Hectares planted for forestry. Green belt are looking after the application for me. I am not a farmer myself but I have been told that if I reactivate my deceased relative's herd number then I could recieve the farmer premium instead of the non-frarmer rate.

I would have to buy livestock and have them tested in order to qualify as a farmer. I have been told that I would only have to purchase one or two LU, keep them for a relatively short period and could then sell them on at a later date without continuing to keep livestock. I live a long way from the land and I would be relying on a friend to look after the livestock for me during this period.

Does anyone have experince of going down this route or have I been ill informed?

Thanks in advance,
Barndancer

ravima

before you start at all, have a word with some one of the REPS advisors as you migth be able to get REPS payments as well as the Forestry payments.

The_Conductor

barndancer wrote: »

Hi all,
I inherited land some years ago which is very marginal and I am in the process of getting about 12 Hectares planted for forestry. Green belt are looking after the application for me. I am not a farmer myself but I have been told that if I reactivate my deceased relative's herd number then I could recieve the farmer premium instead of the non-frarmer rate.

I would have to buy livestock and have them tested in order to qualify as a farmer. I have been told that I would only have to purchase one or two LU, keep them for a relatively short period and could then sell them on at a later date without continuing to keep livestock. I live a long way from the land and I would be relying on a friend to look after the livestock for me during this period.

Does anyone have experince of going down this route or have I been ill informed?

Thanks in advance,
Barndancer

You would also need to have generated over 25% of your income from farming activities in one of the 3 years preceding the application.

You need to get proper advice on this- its not as simple as it sounds.

Johnnyr

Have a look at the following link for details regarding the farmer premium rates and what you need to qualify. It is from the official dept website.
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/publications/forestrymanual2004/chapter3premiumpaymentschemes/

You should also check with GreenBelt, as I'm sure they would have experience with this.

barndancer

Thanks for the replies.

I was thinking it sounded too ggod to be true. I will have to get further clarification from Greenbelt Rep as it was he who told me about this scenario in the first instance!

johnstown

As far as I recall, if you opt into REPS, and then go down the route of FEPS afforestation, then you are automatically deemed to be a farmer.

The_Conductor

johnstown wrote: »

As far as I recall, if you opt into REPS, and then go down the route of FEPS afforestation, then you are automatically deemed to be a farmer.

As far as I know you're right- but keep in mind this process can take up to 2 years (once inspections etc are factored into the equation).

barndancer

smccarrick wrote: »

You would also need to have generated over 25% of your income from farming activities in one of the 3 years preceding the application.

You need to get proper advice on this- its not as simple as it sounds.

Apparently the restrictions on having to reside within 70miles of the plantation and 25% of income from farming are no longer required to qualify as farmer. See the following link http://www.ireland-forestry.com/Afforestation%20Scheme.htm

The_Conductor

Thanks for the update- I might make a forestry sticky over the weekend with the info in it- I'm sure its a question which will be asked again and again.....

Cheers

Shane