DUBLIN, Ireland - The Irish government has formally opened the 1.5 billion euro Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

Farmers' applications to ACRES can be submitted by their advisors up to the closing date of 21 November 2022. This builds on the opening of the system in September for the preparation of the plans by advisers.

"I am pleased to formally open ACRES and to allow farmers' applications to be submitted. This ambitious scheme delivers for both our environmental priorities and supports farm family incomes. As contracts are to begin on 1 January 2023 and to help prepare as much work as possible in advance, my department has trained advisors and published a significant amount of information to guide both farmers over the last few months. Almost 700 advisors have access to the system with over 3,200 Farm Sustainability Plans already drafted and ready for submission," Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said Wednesday from Milan in Italy, where he was meeting with retailers to promote Irish exports.

ACRES, which forms part of Ireland's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027, has been designed to contribute significantly to achieving improved biodiversity, climate, air, and water quality outcomes through both multi-functional prescription and results-based actions. An underlying principle of ACRES is the location of the right action in the right place to maximize and enhance the contribution of actions to these objectives.

"I secured funding in the recent Budget to facilitate the intake of 30,000 participants in this tranche of ACRES. This equates to a significant amount of money as the maximum annual payment to a participant in ACRES General is up to 7,311 euro. In contrast, a participant in the ACRES Co-operation approach could receive up to 10,500 euro in a given year," McConalogue said.

"I want ACRES to deliver for our farm families as well as the environment, so I am looking forward to seeing this ambitious scheme roll out over the coming weeks and months."

• The Terms and Conditions of ACRES, along with the specifications for ACRES General, are published on the Department's website. Meanwhile, the ACRES Co-operation Project Teams are currently finalizing their Local Actions Plans and engaging with farmers. The department says it has delivered a range of webinars to farmers and advisors, which are also available on the website.
• ACRES is jointly funded by the European Union and the national exchequer.
• There are two approaches within the Scheme:
• ACRES General, available nationally (outside of the high-priority geographical area as defined for the ACRES Co-operation approach below), offers a range of measures (both prescription and result-based); and
• ACRES Co-operation is available to farmers in defined high-priority geographical areas. Map in Annex 1 of the ACRES Terms and Conditions shows the 8 ACRES Co-operation Project ('CP') zones.
• A farmer may only enter a contract for one of the approaches and may not participate in both ACRES General and ACRES Co-operation.
• An ACRES application must be submitted, on behalf of the farmer, by an approved ACRES advisor.
• To submit an application on behalf of their farmer clients, an approved ACRES advisor must, for each of their clients:
• o Submit an Expression of Interest/Access Agreement;
• o Prepare and submit a Farm Sustainability Plan (FSP) on the Department's Generic Land Management (GLAM) system, and
• o Complete and submit the application to include relevant uploads.
• ACRES opened for applications online on Monday, October 17, 2022, and is accessible by approved ACRES advisors via their Agfood account until November 21, 2022.
• Support material for the preparation of ACRES applications, including Scheme Specifications, finalized Terms & Conditions, GLAM user manual, AgriSnap guide, and video guides on both creating the FSP and submitting the application, are available at gov.ie/ACRES.
• Video guides may be accessed directly here.
• The ACRES application system will remain open until 23:59pm on November 21, 2022

(Photo: Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue en-route from Rome to Milan by train to meet with retailers, Wednesday 19 October 2022).