New Farmland Identification book launched

from 23 June 2023 Roscommon People

BOWIE, PINK BOOTS AND A WAKE-UP CALL

A new Farmland Identification book was launched recently as part of the rollout of the ACRES scheme.

The book, which contains a description of the most common plants found in Irish grasslands and peatlands, was launched by Ministers Charlie McConalogue and Pippa Hackett with each ACRES participant receiving a copy.

The Farmland Identification book has been described as an important guide for farmers to help identify a variety of plants that can have a beneficial effect on our biodiversity.

Welcoming the publication, Minister for Agriculture allowance. You must be getting a qualifying social welfare payment or taking part in an approved employment, education or training scheme, and both you and each child you are claiming for must be resident in Ireland. In order to qualify for the allowance, your household income must also be within the BSCFA income limit. All dependent children are counted when the income limit is applied, including children who do not qualify for BSCFA because they are under four years of age. Income you get from certain other social welfare payments is not counted. Your total household income must be less than the weekly income limits as follows: €642 for one child, €692 for two children, €742 for three children, and €792 for four children (the income limit goes up by €50 for each additional dependent child).

Charlie McConalogue said “ACRES is our flagship agri-environmental scheme and has set a high level of environmental ambition to be achieved over the next five years.

“I’m delighted with the interest shown by farmers with over 46,000 farmers participating already. Chief among the environmental objectives is the enhancement of the quality and range of species of our grasslands through appropriate management by farmers and landowners who are the custodians of these pastures.

“This book will enhance farmers’ knowledge and enable them to increase their result-based payment under the scheme”.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett added: “The Farmland Plant Identification book is a fantastic userfriendly resource not just for farmers, but for anyone interested in our grassland and peatlands.

“The use of imagery, short descriptions, and colour coding make it easier to identify the species that will have a positive effect on our biodiversity.

“I’d encourage every ACRES participant to take the time to study it and see how it relates to their land”.

The BSCFA is paid automatically to many families. If you are paid automatically, you don’t need to apply for the BSCFA and you should have been notified of your automatic payment by June 8th on MyWelfare or by post. If this is the case, your BSCFA will be paid automatically the week starting July 10th 2023.

If you do not get an automatic payment, you can apply for the payment online through MyWelfare. You can apply until September 30th 2023.

If you have any further questions about BSCFA, then please contact Roscommon CIC on 0818 07 6360 or drop in to our offices Monday to Friday from 10 am to 1 pm. You can also seek further information on the Citizens Information website, citizensinformation.ie, or call the National Phone Service on 0818 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 8 pm).