Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Is it worth getting my Green Cert in this scenario?

Options
  • 31-08-2019 2:37pm
    #1
    Red Soup
    Registered Users Posts: 113 ✭✭


    Hi,

    I'm 31, looking to move home and have my eye on a few plots of agricultural land. Aiming to secure some land, live short term on site in temporary accom, then develop it for part forestry, market garden, smallholding, eco-tourism as well as a site for myself. Currently looking to put in an offer on a 35 acre piece of mixed land - pasture, riverbank and uplands with lots of old-growth forest.

    After talking to the local bank manager and teagasc advisor, both recommended doing the Green Cert as it will give me a lot of benefits if I'm buying agricultural land.

    I've looked into it a bit and it's a long time and commitment, and as a full time teacher I would struggle to take one day off a month. When I get the land my primary aim wouldn't be livestock farming anyway, but I understand the benefits of getting the stamp duty reduction, TAMS, BPS and ANC grants for developing the land.

    What I'm asking is - are the benefits of the Green Cert really that relevant to me? Is it worth 18 months part time and €3000, along with the time I'd need to put in to attend the 25 days contact time, or is it more relevant to younger farmers who are looking to inherit land?

    Thanks


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Mooooo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,611 ✭✭✭Mooooo


    Red Soup wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm 31, looking to move home and have my eye on a few plots of agricultural land. Aiming to secure some land, live short term on site in temporary accom, then develop it for part forestry, market garden, smallholding, eco-tourism as well as a site for myself. Currently looking to put in an offer on a 35 acre piece of mixed land - pasture, riverbank and uplands with lots of old-growth forest.

    After talking to the local bank manager and teagasc advisor, both recommended doing the Green Cert as it will give me a lot of benefits if I'm buying agricultural land.

    I've looked into it a bit and it's a long time and commitment, and as a full time teacher I would struggle to take one day off a month. When I get the land my primary aim wouldn't be livestock farming anyway, but I understand the benefits of getting the stamp duty reduction, TAMS, BPS and ANC grants for developing the land.

    What I'm asking is - are the benefits of the Green Cert really that relevant to me? Is it worth 18 months part time and €3000, along with the time I'd need to put in to attend the 25 days contact time, or is it more relevant to younger farmers who are looking to inherit land?

    Thanks

    You'll have to pay stamp duty if you don't have the green cert on any land you'll buy. Also you will have to get planning for temp accommodation so check that out before you proceed. Is there a way to do it in the evenings instead of days?


  • Options
    #3
    tractorporn
    Registered Users Posts: 1,367 ✭✭✭tractorporn


    Red Soup wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm 31, looking to move home and have my eye on a few plots of agricultural land. Aiming to secure some land, live short term on site in temporary accom, then develop it for part forestry, market garden, smallholding, eco-tourism as well as a site for myself. Currently looking to put in an offer on a 35 acre piece of mixed land - pasture, riverbank and uplands with lots of old-growth forest.

    After talking to the local bank manager and teagasc advisor, both recommended doing the Green Cert as it will give me a lot of benefits if I'm buying agricultural land.

    I've looked into it a bit and it's a long time and commitment, and as a full time teacher I would struggle to take one day off a month. When I get the land my primary aim wouldn't be livestock farming anyway, but I understand the benefits of getting the stamp duty reduction, TAMS, BPS and ANC grants for developing the land.

    What I'm asking is - are the benefits of the Green Cert really that relevant to me? Is it worth 18 months part time and €3000, along with the time I'd need to put in to attend the 25 days contact time, or is it more relevant to younger farmers who are looking to inherit land?

    Thanks

    Imo it's well worth having the green cert. Any of the schemes now require you to upload your qualifications for payment. And the payments unfortunately are where the money is.


  • Options
    #4
    893bet
    Registered Users Posts: 8,770 ✭✭✭893bet


    Red Soup wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm 31, looking to move home and have my eye on a few plots of agricultural land. Aiming to secure some land, live short term on site in temporary accom, then develop it for part forestry, market garden, smallholding, eco-tourism as well as a site for myself. Currently looking to put in an offer on a 35 acre piece of mixed land - pasture, riverbank and uplands with lots of old-growth forest.

    After talking to the local bank manager and teagasc advisor, both recommended doing the Green Cert as it will give me a lot of benefits if I'm buying agricultural land.

    I've looked into it a bit and it's a long time and commitment, and as a full time teacher I would struggle to take one day off a month. When I get the land my primary aim wouldn't be livestock farming anyway, but I understand the benefits of getting the stamp duty reduction, TAMS, BPS and ANC grants for developing the land.

    What I'm asking is - are the benefits of the Green Cert really that relevant to me? Is it worth 18 months part time and €3000, along with the time I'd need to put in to attend the 25 days contact time, or is it more relevant to younger farmers who are looking to inherit land?

    Thanks


    Google Online green cert in Westport


  • Options
    #5
    Gudstock
    Registered Users Posts: 171 ✭✭Gudstock


    Check out Pallaskenry part time Green cert options, one of them lines up with teachers holidays, very popular.


  • Options
    #6
    Donald Trump
    Registered Users Posts: 19,117 ✭✭✭✭Donald Trump


    Gudstock wrote: »
    Check out Pallaskenry part time Green cert options, one of them lines up with teachers holidays, very popular.




    Would be more difficult not to line up with the teacher's holidays ;)




    Throw a dart at a calendar and chances the teachers will be off on the day where it lands


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    keepalive213
    Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭keepalive213


    The amount you'll save / make through having a green cert, minus the cost of doing it, taking into account the value you place on your own time.
    My ten cents, 35 acres I don't think it's worth doing it.


  • Options
    #8
    Red Soup
    Registered Users Posts: 113 ✭✭Red Soup


    keepalive213 wrote: »
    The amount you'll save / make through having a green cert, minus the cost of doing it, taking into account the value you place on your own time.
    My ten cents, 35 acres I don't think it's worth doing it.

    And if I want to apply for schemes on the land in the future, will I be able to get them without a green cert?


  • Options
    #9
    Siamsa Sessions
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 3,651 Mod ✭✭✭✭Siamsa Sessions


    Red Soup wrote: »
    And if I want to apply for schemes on the land in the future, will I be able to get them without a green cert?

    As with everything, it depends...

    Many schemes are in place to support "generational renewal" - getting under 40-year-olds involved in farming. To qualify for such schemes you need to be a "trained" farmer which means having a green cert or level-6 equivalent qualification.

    Other schemes don't require you to be formally "trained". It all depends on the type of schemes that are in place when the new CAP is agreed and implemented. It was supposed to be in place now, but most likely nothing will happen on the ground (that is, schemes open for applications) until 2021.

    Another aspect is the likes of TAMS grants for equipment and upgrading of farm buildings, infrastructure, etc. If you're under 40 and have a green cert, you get a grant of 60% of the costs. If you're over 40 or don't have a green cert, you get 40%. Now, the merits of applying for a TAMS grant are not clear for every situation but this is another example of where the green cert might be useful as a piece of paper.

    On the actual learning side, I'm just finished a distance education green cert in Kildalton and I was impressed overall. It gave me a good understanding of the overall agri industry in Ireland, as well as the basics of best practise in beef and sheep (there was another elective on dairy). I'd recommend doing it from my own experience. It'd also give you a taste of the everyday realities involved in farming before you jump in fully at home.

    Maybe the questions to ask yourself are: what else could you invest that 3k in and what else would you be doing with those 25 days over 18 months? Then compare that with what you'll have at the end of the green cert.

    A final generalisation: investing in your own education is probably one of the best financial investments you'll ever make. Doesn't always have to be formal like the green cert, but informal learning will also give you options you wouldn't otherwise have.

    Now, I'm off for a walk and to meditate more on the meaning of it all :-)

    Trading as Sullivan’s Farm on YouTube



Advertisement