Minister Heydon announces commencement of over €8.4 million in Organic Farming Scheme balancing payments
- Published on: 30 April 2025
- Last updated on: 30 April 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, today announced the commencement of the 2024 balancing payments under the Organic Farming Scheme.
The Minister said:
“Over 81% (3961) of farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme are receiving their balancing payments this week. The timely processing of payments is a key priority for my Department. I know how crucial payments are to farm families and I am pleased that this year’s payments are being made a full month earlier than they issued in 2024. Approximately 1,000 extra farmers are receiving balancing payments compared to last year. Payments will be in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my Department will continue to process as a matter of urgency all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”
There are now approximately 5,500 organic farmers in Ireland farming an estimated 248,000 hectares. The number of organic ewes has trebled in the last three years and the number of organic sucklers has doubled. Demand for Irish organic oats continues to outstrip supply and highlights the ongoing opportunities in organic farming.
The Minister further commented:
“I would also like to take this opportunity to remind those who commenced farming organically in 2025 to complete their 25-hour training course as soon as possible. All participants must have this informative course completed before they are eligible to receive payment.”
Concluding, Minister Heydon said:
“The European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food, which prioritises generational renewal, aligns with our own FoodVision strategy in identifying organic farming as an opportunity for young farmers and a way to attract the next generation of skilled Irish farmers into our sector. This is one of the most important tasks we face and must be a priority in shaping our policy for the future.”
Notes to Editor
The European Commission presented the Vision for Agriculture and Food in February of this year.
It states: “The Union of 2040 must be a place where farming and food production thrive across our continent in all their diversity. A place where farming is attractive for future generations, and the agri-food sector is competitive, resilient, future-proof and fair. The future of this strategic sector rests on the ability of the Union and its Member States to put in place the right conditions to enable:
An attractive and predictable agri-food sector where incomes enable farmers to thrive, attracting future generations that will continue producing food that is affordable for everyone and meets consumer demands; where conducive conditions are in place to allow the agri-food sector to leverage its entrepreneurial potential, supported by different income sources and skills to grasp the opportunities of innovation, technology and the green transition; where ecosystem services beneficial to the environment, water, soil or air quality, such as in the growing organic sector, are properly rewarded; where a fair functioning food chain ensues that the burden and costs of the transition are shared equitably along the chain.”
Organic farming is identified as a concrete example of leveraging the opportunities of innovation that rewards farmers: “Farmers are innovators and entrepreneurs by nature. Young farmers want to be the drivers of innovation. New opportunities are emerging for complementary sources of income for farmers and also fishers from a climate-neutral and nature-positive economy. Concrete examples are the growing organic sector and agroecological farming practices which prove to be attractive options for younger farmers, combining economic possibilities with environmental results and social responsibility”.
Organics is also identified as an area that should benefit from simplification: “The Commission will propose in Q2 2025 a comprehensive Simplification package of the current agricultural legislative framework which will deliver: (i) On-farm simplification and streamlining of requirements that better recognise various situations and farming practices (such as organic farming)”.