Three extensions have been announced over the last week to deadlines for payment submissions or application deadlines. These are summarised as follows:

National Farm Safety Measure

The deadline for submitting an expression of interest to the scheme remained the same, with the scheme closing for applications on Friday 27 October.

However, a two-week extension for submitting applications for the purchase of quad/ATV helmets or PTO covers has been introduced by Minister of State Martin Heydon.

The deadline for submitting a payment claim is now Friday 10 November. Any queries regarding the Scheme should be directed to farmsafetymeasure@agriculture.gov.ie.

National Liming Programme

The deadline for farmers to submit payment claims for lime purchased under the National Liming Programme has been extended by a week and is now Tuesday 7 November.

The extension was announced last week by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to help lime providers deal with a high level of transactions in a timely manner.

Minister McConalogue previously introduced an allowance for farmers to purchase lime, submit a payment claim and then spread lime up until 31 March 2024.

Soil Sampling Programme

Minister McConalogue also announced an extension this week for applications to the Soil Sampling Programme.

The deadline for applications is now Friday 10 November 2023.

Under the programme, farmers can get up to 16 soil samples per farm collected and analysed free of charge.

The Department is targeting in the region of 90,000 samples in Phase Two of the programme, with samples collected until quarter four of 2024.

Horticulture Crisis Fund

The Department announced on Wednesday that the closing date for applications would be extended for a week, with the scheme now closing at midnight on Wednesday 8 November.

The €2.3m crisis fund will provide a once-off payment to growers with brown mushrooms, heated strawberries, field vegetables (excluding potatoes), field salad crops, apples, vertically farmed greens and glasshouse high-wire crops.