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pinkcow · Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Posts: 30

anyone got any advice or information as to how to apply for and what exactly is needed for the REPS scheme

thanks
Bríd

chook · Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 305 Location: North Clare

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/far...lenvironmentprotectionschemereps/ Wink

blowin · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:32 pm Post subject:

I can only comment on my own experience but it seems that quite a bit depends on how the individual Planner ( the consultant you have to engage ) interprets things . There are also some easy mistakes to make if you are not familiar with the options and their implications . I guess that is inevitable with any scheme so I would suggest that talk to people who have the same set-up as you , if that is possible .
A couple of examples :- I went into it before I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with the land , or , more specifically , I wanted to retain the max freedom of choice throughout the 5 year term of the contract . So , I designated nearly all the plots as grazing areas and said I might have all sorts of different animals , not just sheep . I also said I might have more rather than less livestock .
The consequence of that was that I was obliged to fence of ALL watercourses in a manner suitable for cattle ( which is more rigorous than for sheep ) .I had no idea until the official maps were produced that there is over 1500 metres of watercourse on my land , with all the little streams ! It was totally out of the question to fence all of that on both sides , particularly since in the real world most of it would never be grazed anyway . Certainly not by cattle .
The other consequence was that the nutrient plan for the inflated number of animals I had suggested meant that the entire nitrogen allowance was taken up by the predicted amount of manure from my own animals -- so I cannot bring in the farmyard manure I need from anywhere else even tho I am producing very little of my own . Should I breach that condition the penalty would be very severe .
On the other hand you can designate certain plots as " limited grazing " so you can still put a few animals on it with little or no fencing of waterways .
Don't say you might overwinter animals indoors unless you are really likely to do so or you be required to put in a whole system of slurry management .
Finally , be realistic about how much of the land you can actually manage on an ongoing basis . I used to strim and clear a large area around the pond but simply can't get around to doing that now so it has gone back to jungle . If I had predicted that to begin with I could have designated that as creation of a new area for wildlife and that would have been one of the options sorted with no effort !
I found that the capital costs to comply with my obligations under the scheme exceeded the payments for the first 2 years . Broke even in year 3 and should hopefully be slightly in credit for years 4 and 5 ----- assuming that the stone wall which I have to maintain doesn't fall down .
Sorry to ramble ( as I usually do ) and recognise that none of that may be relevant to your own circumstances but perhaps it will shed some light on the considerations .