New Acres scheme

There is a extensive grazing action that pays €200/ha. The land cannot get more that 40 units of chemical N, cannot be topped between the 15th March and the 1st of July, rushes can be controlled by weed licking or topping but no more than 50% of the land in any one year.

If you click on the screenshot that I put up a few post ago you can read more.

Edit to add screenshot -

Don't know TBH from the level of information that I've read online and in the IFJ. I think that is a question that you need to ask your advisor or wait until more detailed information becomes available.

With all of these schemes you will have to get an Agri advisor out and go through the options. You then add in the barn owl box , LESS, a bit of hedging or fencing of a water body etc. Never think you will get to 5-7k without serious compromise to your farming activity.

That’s basically a cow and spring born calf per ha

Most farm yards are near the farmhouse. 0.5 HA is 1.25 acres it a fair skelp of land around the houses

Think it has to be pine tree plantation as well. For the thickness and winter ammonia soakage.

One would have to have it back from the shed as well.

How much does it pay birdnuts

So you only get 70 euro grant for the trouble of a puting up a bird box that just a waste of time in my book.

I really like the 200 euro for 10 hecrares extensive grazing anything else wothwhile considering

If you did manage to get a barn owl they are supposed to be good for vermin control.

It shouldn't be too much trouble to put one up. I expect you'll be able to buy ones ready made too like the bird and bat boxes.

I expect you'll have to pay the €35 or maybe more for one but you should be in profit for your efforts after year 1.

Wild bird cover looks worth considering, after that depending on your farm maybe coppicing hedges or planting new hedge to fill in gaps.

I wouldn't cross Dexters, I'd breed the best in their own breed. I know a lad who's only at them 3 years and he sold two bull calves for 1k each last year.

A 26 to 28 month steer'll make 8 to 900 on the hoof and about 11 to 1300 if QA going to Larry through the scheme.

He's cost very little if you've enough rough ground to run him across.

Heifers or cows can hardly be bought at the moment.

The more I think about it, I'm not going to apply. The value of the payment is being eroded by inflation. Food prices are on the path towards their true value. Coupled with a bulging world population, demand is going to be steady and rising. Chasing payments while reducing production by even greater level is not going to be profitable. We have 40% more euros floating around due to quantitive easing. This coupled with the oil price, and the Ukraine war being the trigger to start this we are only at the start of this journey. Long term inflation is a means of transfering wealth and capital towards younger people.

Fixed income in an inflationary environment, without being able to fix your costs, is a recipe for disaster. Oh wait I have seen it this year on Irish farms, with fixed milk contracts

Private all the way (had bad experience with lazy Teagasc guy). Some good guys in Teagasc but there is no accountability so the many useless articles are left in place until they are 66.

Where as private guy only gets paid by customer if he is a success.

I'm kind of thinking like that too but I'm in two minds

If your inputs are going up...ahead of the payback when you sell your produce it could be a good thing scaling back a bit....

But then her more that do that the higher the price paid for less produce.....

.....

Following the crowd is going something I don't like. We can only control what we can inside our gates and being flexible is the key. Looking at what some of the progressive organic farmers are doing and it would give you food for though of what one could implement. I'm serious consider some red clover and combicrop. This helps to give me control over my main cost

For most beef farmers the key is making the best quality silage you can and early turnout of stock. This takes a bit of courage and is easy to implement. Protein and energy costs in the winter diet is something we have been relying on from the boat. I'm amazed that the inclusion of red clover and possible whole cropping has been overlooked in the acres scheme. This prevents carbon leakage