Tirlán suppliers behind almost 100 Water EIP plans
Funding Areas All Potentially For Not For First Living In Have Action (paas) Farmers Eligible Those The Call Priority Are Eip
Nearly 100 Tirlán milk suppliers are progressing applications for financial support under the €60m Farming for Water EIP, to improve water quality.
The milk processor has advised any suppliers who have not yet engaged with their Farm Support Service team, their ASSAP advisors, or their local Tirlán staff, to get in touch for free and confidential help and support in assessing their farm needs and making a funding application, where appropriate.
Not all farmers are potentially eligible for the EIP funding. Those living in Priority Areas for Action (PAAs) have first call. PAAs are basically the 190 areas around the country where most water bodies are deemed to be at risk.
Farms in cycle 2 or cycle 3 PAAs, already assessed by ASSAP, are in Tier 1 for EIP funding.
Tier 2 are farms in cycle 3 PAAs, or in a catchment with a community-led water quality initiative, and a nutrient/sediment/pesticide issue prioritised by the EPA or local authority.
Farms without such issues in their area, but in Cycle 3 PAAs or community-led initiatives, are in Tier 3 for EIP funding. All other farms are in Tier 4.
The aim is to involve up to 15,000 farmers in reducing losses of phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment and, where relevant, pesticides, to rivers, lakes, wetlands and all watercourses, from farmlands.
Many of these farmers are in PAAs in Munster, including East Limerick and West Tipperary; the Limerick-Cork border area; the mid-Iveragh area in Co Kerry; north-west Clare; around Dungarvan and Waterford city; and the Cork coastal area from Clonakilty to east of Kinsale.
A budget of €50m over five years was allocated by the EU and the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. The Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage funds administrative costs of of €10m over five years for the Farming for Water EIP.
Measures eligible include catch or cover crops, nutrient management plans, nitrogen use efficiency plans, farmyard sediment (silt) collection tanks, spatially targeted riparian buffer zones, hedgerow establishment, additional fencing for excluding cattle from water bodies, riparian buffer zones, tree planting, earthen bunds, sediment traps for farm roadway run-off, watercourse crossings or bridges, gateway relocation, pesticide mitigation, and multi-species swards.
ASSAP advisors can determine which farms are eligible for EIP funds. Applications will be accepted up to the end of 2027. Involvement is totally voluntary, and any measures to be implemented are jointly agreed.
The funding an individual farmer can receive depends on the number of measures implemented. Initially, €250 is paid for completion of the Rainwater Management Plan, which must accompany each application.
At a discussion group in the River Bann area in Co Wexford, Tirlán Head of Agri-Sustainability Thomas Ryan, said Tirlán suppliers have already made 97 EIP funding applications, and many more are in train.
Two Bann river catchment Tirlán suppliers revealed their plans.
John Bardon said: "We’ve always been very conscious of protecting water quality on the farm, and it’s part of everything we do every day.
“We’ve put together an application under the Farming for Water EIP. It was very straightforward. We’re looking at adding a sediment trap and investing in a bucket and brush. We’re also looking at planting more hedgerows and improving drains around the farm.
“These are all things that I wanted to do for peace of mind, and the available support under the EIP is speeding up that process. I’m very hopeful, confident even, that through the work done and planned in the short-term on farms, we can get the results needed to retain the derogation, which is very important in our grass-based system.”
Aidan Whitty said: “We’re always carrying out improvements on the farm to protect water quality on the Bann. In the past while, we’ve put 15 loads of concrete onto the yard, and we have invested in a whole new drainage system.
“This system separates the clean water from the grey water so we can protect water quality. It takes the pressure off, no matter what the weather or what the time of year.
“We have applied under the Farming for Water EIP. Some of the investments we’re planning include a brush, a bunded ditch, sediment drains and more hedges.”
IFAC’s Head of Farm Support, Philip O’Connor advised careful evaluation of the farm business structure and overall financial health if planning slurry investment, and cautioned against compromising cash flow by over-extending. He suggested those choosing to borrow would "hedge" by borrowing for longer. “Short-term debt can be a real killer on cash flow”.
