Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES)
| Information last updated by DAFM on April 2nd, 2025 All details are taken from the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine ‘Schemes & Payments’ section located here. Please check this section for the latest information and updates relating to Farm Schemes & Payments. |
What is the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme?
ACRES is Ireland’s new agri-environment climate scheme under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan. This new €1.5 billion flagship agri-environment scheme is a farmer-friendly scheme to help address biodiversity decline while delivering an income support for up to 50,000 farm families in Ireland.
ACRES Updates
Department Update on payments to 07 April 2025 to participants in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and the scheduling of future payments to ACRES participants.
Advisors should visit ACRES advisors for information and guides.
The Difference Between ACRES General and ACRES Co-operation
General: available nationally (outside of the high priority geographical area defined for the ACRES Co-operation approach) and offers a range of actions for individual farmers, both targeted and general.
Co-operation: available to farmers in defined high priority geographical areas, and involves results-based payments as well as bespoke farm and landscape actions. Contracts have been awarded for the management of Co-operation Projects (CP), and farmers will be supported by new teams, who will develop local action plans for their zones.
The ACRES Co-operation Project (ACRES CP) uses a qualitative approach whereby all forage land included in the scheme will be assessed using results-based score cards with incentives in place to increase scores and improve the landscape being farmed. For more information, visit the farmers in ACRES CP page.
Review of ACRES Commonage Scores – January 2025
The ‘Review of ACRES commonage scores – January 2025’ document outlines the way in which an ACRES participant may request a review of the scores assigned to the commonage which forms part of their ACRES contract. The document outlines the steps in the review process.
Review of ACRES Commonage Scores – January 2025
Commonage Scoring Review Request Form
Request to DAFM for Review of Commonage Scoring Review Decision
Rates of Payment
ACRES General offers a maximum of €7,311 a year. The level of payment a farmer may achieve will be determined by the payment rates for the actions selected and undertaken satisfactorily.
Co-operation offers a maximum of €10,500 a year with a maximum results-based payment of €7,000 with an extra non-productive investment and landscape maximum of €3,500. The level of payment will be determined by results-based scorecards, non-productive investments, and landscape actions, which will be designed for land-types and region.
Payments per measure
| ACRES Measure | Farmer Payment (maximum) |
| General Measure | €7,311 |
| Cooperation Measure | €10,500 (including €3,500 for NPIs and Landscape Actions) |
ACRES General (General Actions)
| Action (ACRES General | Margin widths | €per metre/year | €per ha/year | €per unit/year | €per m³/year |
| Barn owl nest box | 36.48 | ||||
| Brassica fodder stubble | 120 | ||||
| Catch crops | 173.2 | ||||
| Conservation of rare breeds (per LU)1 | 200 | ||||
| Environmental management of arable fallow | 1,047 | ||||
| Extensively grazed pasture | 250 | ||||
| Geese and swans | 205 | ||||
| Grass Margin arable | 3m | 0.38 | |||
| 4m | 0.51 | ||||
| 6m | 0.76 | ||||
| 8m | 1.01 | ||||
| Grass margin grassland | 2m | 1 | |||
| 3m | 1.1 | ||||
| 6m | 1.37 | ||||
| Coppicing of Hedgerows | 2.87 | ||||
| Laying of Hedgerow | 5.47 | ||||
| Low emissions slurry spreading | 1.20 | ||||
| Management of intensive grassland next to a watercourse | 502 | ||||
| Minimum tillage | 40 | ||||
| Planting a new hedgerow | 5.29 | ||||
| Planting a traditional orchard | 27.49 | ||||
| Planting trees in Riparian buffer zones | 3.18 | ||||
| Tree Planting | 6.21 | ||||
| Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments- arable | 209 | ||||
| Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments- grassland | 125 | ||||
| Over winter stubble | 86 | ||||
| Riparian buffer strip – arable | 3m | 0.38 | |||
| 4m | 0.51 | ||||
| 6m | 0.77 | ||||
| 8m | 1.02 | ||||
| Riparian buffer strip – grassland | 1.5m | 1.30 | |||
| 3m | 1.71 | ||||
| 6m | 2.11 | ||||
| Riparian buffer zone – arable | 1,242 | ||||
| Riparian buffer zone – grassland | 1,530 | ||||
| Ryegrass seed set for birds | 1.37 | ||||
| Traditional dry stone wall maintenance | 0.76 | ||||
| Tree belts to capture ammonia from farmyards (0.18 – 0.5 ha) (Max €2514/yr) | |||||
| Unharvested cereal headlands | 12m | 1.26 | |||
| 21m | 2.20 | ||||
| 24m | 2.52 | ||||
| 30m | 3.15 | ||||
| Winter bird food plot | 1,000 | ||||
| Winter bird food strip | 6m | 0.98 | |||
| 8m | 1.31 |
Results-based actions (ACRES General)
Low Input Grassland 2 (ACRES General)
| Field Score | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | <4 |
| Payment rate per hectare | €400 | €375 | €350 | €325 | €300 | €275 | €250 | 0 |
Low Input Peat Grassland 2
| Field Score | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | <4 |
| Payment rate per hectare | €400 | €375 | €350 | €325 | €300 | €275 | €250 | 0 |
Results Based Actions (ACRES Co-operation)
Grassland, Peatland, Scrubland – Results-based payment
| Field Score | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | <4 |
| Payment Rate | €400 | €350 | €300 | €250 | €205 | €175 | €150 | €0 |
| Reduced scale for farmers receiving OFS | €150 | €100 | €50 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 |
Commonage 3 (ACRES General and ACRES Co-operation)
Commonage (ACRES General and ACRES Co-op)
| Field Score | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | <4 |
| Payment Rate | €220 | €180 | €145 | €115 | €90 | €70 | €60 | €0 |
| Commonage (<10ha) | €120/h |
1. Breeding females that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility requirements will be paid an additional payment of €75 per progeny registered up to overall maximum payment ceiling
2. Participants may apply for a late meadow bonus payment of €50/ha
3. Participation payment set at €50/ha on the first 20 hectares irrespective of results-based score. The results based payment rates are inclusive of this participation payment Commonage (<10ha) €120/ha
How to Apply
You apply for the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme as part of the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application.
A farmer may submit their own application in conjunction with their BISS application, if they so wish, or they can employ a FAS approved advisor to do so on their behalf.
To apply online, login or register at www.agfood.ie
Contact
ACRES
Address: Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford, Co. Wexford, Y35 PN52
Email: [email protected]
Telephone:+353 (0) 53 9163425
ACRES Co-Operation
Address:Johnstown Castle Estate. Co. Wexford, Y35 PN52
Email: [email protected]
Telephone:+353 (0) 53 9163425
For the full details on ACRES see the dedicated DAFM section available here.