The government has paid out €182m to 85,000 farmers this year to date under the Area of Natural Constraints Scheme for farming in designated disadvantaged areas.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said the scheme was "crucial to farm families" and that the issuing of payments in mid-September showed the government's commitment to making payments to farmers as soon as possible.

"The ANC payments are a timely and significant financial boost for farmers and for the wider rural economy," he continued.

"Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my Department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”

The issuing of €182m in payments to 85,000 is in line with previous years, with €182m having been paid out to 85,000 farmers at this stage in 2021.

In Association with

The payments currently being issued are an 85% advance payment on the scheme, with payment of the 15% balance due to commence in early December.

To qualify for ANC farmers must hold a valid herd number and be farming cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys or deer on at least three hectares of eligible ANC lands in their own right.

In addition to satisfying the eligibility requirement, land entitled to benefit from payment under the scheme must have an agricultural activity carried out on it and the land must be used and farmed by the applicant.

Commonage parcels must be maintained in such a condition as to ensure the land is suitable for grazing or cultivation.

Applicants with sheep or goats must have submitted a valid Sheep or Goat Census return within specified timelines. Arable lands, which are payable in designated areas under the scheme, are not subject to or taken into account in the calculation of stocking requirements.

The Irish Farmers' Association last week warned that farmers were being squeezed by rising fertiliser costs and falling prices for produce ahead of next week's Budget.

(Pic: Getty Images)