Eligible Land and Forestry

Tipperarymike

Hi all,

I am half thinking of planting some bog land that I have and am weighing up pros and cons. We have about 28 ha ish of it which is mostly suitable I think though I haven't contacted anyone to look at it yet. Anyways all along we hadn't opted for planting it as we were using to for eligible land to draw down entitlements. Last year on a land eligibility inspection I had 14 ha of it deducted, am still fighting that but that is a whole other story of which I am sick of.

Am I right in thinking, I just read the Terms and Conditions for SPS and DAS 2011 but they can be clear as mud, that if I plant the bog land at any point from now on, that I can still use it to draw my entitlements? It reads that way but rather than trusting my own two eyes I would like to confirm it with someone who has done similar, if such a person is on here.

Cheers,

Mike

JohnBoy

you can claim SFP on new forestry alright, dont know if it can be done retrospectively or not.

also dont know if it can make the inelligible land elligible again.

Why did they say it was inelligible?

Tipperarymike

Cheers for the reply John Boy,

That is a very interesting point you raise about it being ineligible and therefore potentially not being made eligible if I plant it. Never thought of that angle myself.

It was ruled in eligible because the AO who inspected it claimed it was no longer being maintained according to the rules for GAEC. All that is a moot point and very loosely defined from what I can figure. Half of the land I have been grazing pretty well even though it is fairly 'rushey'. The half that got ruled ineligible I hadn't grazed as intensely though have been grazing always and it passed an eligibility in 2008.

JohnBoy

Hmmm, no expert on this, but I think as long as the entitlements havent been let lapse then if you bring the land back into gaec then you can claim on it again.


But ring the department. I've had mixed results with them but found the people on the SFP helpline in may to be very helpful indeed.

Tipperarymike

Somewhat like yourself John, I am having very mixed results with the Dept. The staff in Portlaoise tend to be very helpful to be fair to them, local lads are a different kettle of fish at times.

greenfingers89

im currently working as a forester but not in your area.

if you plant land, as long as you have 10% or 3 hectares (whichever is bigger) remaining in farming your entitlements will not be effected. however if you have area aid at the moment, that will stop on the land you plant. the forestry premiums are much larger than area aid so its probably well worth your while looking into it further.

i dont no any foresters that well in the area but green belt ltd would be the largest and are quite good to deal with from what i hear.

give them a shout and they will send someone out to look at the land and advise you further, it wont cost you anything.

you might also be able to get into the aeos scheme which will work very well with forestry seen as its not area based like reps was, just a thought.

reddeer1

It will be very hard if not impossible to get most types of bog planted in this day and age. The fact that they reduced your area already would seem to me that this would be very marginal bog. The type of vegetation growing on land is the most predictable indicator to see if land is suitable for planting forestry. The department will not grant aid any more land with heather growing on it. This may also include mossy/wet ground on boggy sites. Land with grass/rush ground is most suitable for forestry will usually be approved if all other boxes are ticked. There are other companies out there such as FEL and Forestry Services that will also offer a first class service.

greenfingers89

reddeer1 wrote: »

It will be very hard if not impossible to get most types of bog planted in this day and age. The fact that they reduced your area already would seem to me that this would be very marginal bog. The type of vegetation growing on land is the most predictable indicator to see if land is suitable for planting forestry. The department will not grant aid any more land with heather growing on it. This may also include mossy/wet ground on boggy sites. Land with grass/rush ground is most suitable for forestry will usually be approved if all other boxes are ticked. There are other companies out there such as FEL and Forestry Services that will also offer a first class service.

agreed, even if your unsure its suitable or not, still worth having someone out to look at it. didnt realise FEL had someone in that area, they seem to be pretty good also