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Image of Corra river in Graney demonstration sub-catchment of the Waters of LIFE project.

Pilot Agri-Environmental Programme Booklet Published

The Waters of LIFE Project have published an information booklet for their upcoming pilot agri-environmental programme.

The project are currently seeking expressions of interest to participate in the programme, designed to reward farmers for protecting and improving water quality.

Click here to download Waters of LIFE Agri-Environmental Programme information booklet.

Deadline for receipt of EOI is November 30th 2024. Contracts are to be offered from January 2025 with farm visits starting in the spring.

There are four ways in which farmers can receive payment through the Waters of LIFE Programme:

  1. Results based payments
  2. General actions
  3. Supporting actions (also known as non-productive investments or landscape actions).
  4. Training and knowledge exchange

Achieving greater outcomes for water quality is important for our future and the future of farming.

Results-based payments are a key part of the programme. Payments are linked to quality of habitats on farms including:

  • Riverside areas
  • Species-rich grasslands
  • Peatlands
  • Woodlands and scrub

The more you can improve the quality and/or quantity of these habitats on your farm, the more payment you will receive. Many farmers will be familiar with results-based schemes and the use of scorecards for habitats.

Waters of LIFE have introduced a new riverside habitat scorecard for farmers with river frontage in our demonstration sub-catchments. Our riverside habitat scorecard pays out €2000/ha on a 10/10 score for a fenced or uncultivated strip along the river in areas of improved grassland and tillage, up
to a maximum width of 20m.

Farmers who do not have river frontage can still apply for the programme. They can receive payments for habitats not immediately adjacent to rivers and also through a number of actions.

Some general actions are not linked to results. These include:

  • Runoff risk assessment
  • Nutrient management planning
  • Nutrient surplus recording
  • Precision nutrient application and record keeping
  • Catch crops
  • Minimum tillage/no tillage
  • Mob grazing

Farmers can also be paid for agreed supporting actions such as fencing; livestock drinking facilities; riverside tree planting; spatially targeted buffers; drain blocking.

The programme is open to farmers with a herd or tillage number in any of the Waters of LIFE five demonstration sub-catchments. The Sheen catchment is a control catchment and is not included in the programme.

 

Resources:

For more information, please contact the Waters of LIFE team. Phone numbers and emails are available at https://www.watersoflife.ie/contact/