The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has moved to clarify eligibility requirements under the conservation of rare breeds action in the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

In a circular to ACRES farm advisors this month, the department said it was issuing clarifications after receiving a number of queries in relation to the action.

In order to be eligible for payment under the ACRES rare breeds measure, a farmer must, as part of their annual declaration, upload a copy of proof of membership with the relevant breed society for the particular year. The document should be on the society's headed paper.

Farmers are also required to provide identification documents and certificates issues by the relevant society for each registered animal.

For bovines, these are the blue passport or pedigree cert, while for ovines (sheep) and caprines (goats), a flock report is required.

For equines, the following pages from the animal's passport is required:

Identification page (including name, date of birth, registered number and microchip number);
Ownership pages;
Markings pages (displaying the markings on the equine, with descriptions);
Progeny page for all registered offspring.

Apart from proof of society membership and animal identification documents, owners are also required to complete a rare breeds annual record declaration. The closing date for submission of this information is November 15.

Payments are made based not on the number of animals but on the number of livestock units (LU).

The ratio of animal to LU is as follows:

Bovines under one year old - 0.4LU;
Bovines over one but under two years old - 0.7LU;
Bovine male two years and over - 1LU;
Suckler cow and bovine female two years and over - 0.8LU;
Equines over six months - 0.8LU;
Sheep/goats over six months - 0.1LU.

To remain eligible for the action, at least one of the breeds selected must produce at least one offspring that is registered with the relevant breed society before the end of the third year of the contract.

The department also clarified the eligibility criteria for animals within each species of the ACRES rare breeds measure.

The eligibility criteria for bovines are as follows:

All registered females over six months;
All registered bulls between six months and two years;
All registered bulls greater than two years of age, up to a maximum of one bull per five cows (one bull considered for payment if between one and five cows, two bulls considered if between six and 10 cows, etc);
All breeding females over two years must produce at least one registered offspring before the end of the contract. Otherwise a full clawback will ensue;
Maximum livestock units of bovines for payment is 20LU.

The department said that breeding females that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility requirement (i.e. more than one) will be paid an additional €75 per maternal LU equivalent for each progeny registered, up to the maximum payment ceiling.

The eligibility criteria for equines are:

All registered females over six months of age;
All registered males between six months and three years;
Registered males greater than three years up to a maximum of one stallion per five mares (one stallion considered for payment if between one and five mares, two stallions considered if between six and 10 mares, etc);
All breeding females over three years must produce at least one registered offspring before the end of the contract. Otherwise a full clawback will ensue;
To be eligible for payment a holding must be registered with the department as an equine premises, i.e. have an equine premises registration number;
Maximum livestock units for payment is 20 for Kerry bog ponies, and 10 each for Connemara ponies and Irish draught horses.

As with bovines, breeding female equines that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility requirements (i.e. more than one) will be paid an additional payment of €75 per maternal LU equivalent of each progeny registered, up to the maximum payment ceiling.

The eligibility criteria for ovines/caprines are:

All registered females over six months;
Registered males over one year up to a maximum of one male per five adult females, as with bovines and equines (males under one year are not eligible for payment);
All breeding females over one year must produce at least two registered offspring before the end of the contract. Otherwise a full clawback will ensue;
Maximum livestock units for payment is 20LU.

As with bovines and equines, breeding females that produce a registered offspring above the basic eligibility (i.e. more than two) will be paid an additional payment of €75 per maternal LU equivalent for each progeny registered, up to the overall maximum ceiling.