Reminder about attendance at voluntary ACRES training courses

The Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine wishes to advise farmers who are participating in Tranche 1 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) that the last date on which they may attend a voluntary ACRES training course, provided under the ACRES Training Scheme, is 31 March 2026.

ACRES training courses are arranged and held by approved ACRES trainers, a list of whom is available on the Department’s website here.

ACRES Tranche 1 participants who are interested in attending a voluntary ACRES training course by the deadline (31 March 2026) should contact an approved ACRES trainer to indicate their interest in so attending.

Trainers are required to arrange courses a number of days in advance of the scheduled date of the course, so Tranche 1 participants, if interested in attending a course by end March 2026, should indicate such interest to an approved ACRES trainer within the next couple of weeks.

The last date on which ACRES Tranche 2 participants (that is those who were accepted into ACRES from 1 January 2024) may attend a voluntary ACRES training course is 31 December 2026.

Information on the ACRES Training Scheme is available on the Department’s website at ACRES Training Scheme (ATS) (www.gov.ie).

Notes for Editors

The EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) is a partnership between society and agriculture that ensures a stable supply of food, safeguards farmers’ income, protects the environment and keeps rural areas vibrant. EU countries implement the CAP 2023-27 with a CAP Strategic Plan at national level.

The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is co-funded by the National Exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union under Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

ACRES is the agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027.

There are two approaches within the Scheme:

The ACRES Training Scheme (ATS) is co-funded by the National Exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union under Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

ATS puts a system in place for the provision of training to participants in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

ACRES participants were required to attend a mandatory ACRES training course within a specified timeframe. The ACRES training courses which are currently being provided are, however, voluntary courses which ACRES participants may avail of in their third year of participation in ACRES.

While this meant that they should only have been available until 31 December 2025 for those who entered the Scheme under Tranche 1 in 2023, the final date by which they may attend course was extended to 31 March 2026 in view of the large number who were accepted into ACRES under Tranche 1.

The objectives of the ACRES Training Scheme are to:

• increase farmers’ understanding of climate change, the impact of farming activities on natural resources and the protection of biodiversity at farm level,
• outline how the actions undertaken as part of ACRES will address the environmental, climate and biodiversity related challenges outlined in the SWOT analysis undertaken as part of Ireland’s preparation of its CAP Strategic Plan, and
• educate farmers on how to appropriately implement the ACRES actions; thereby equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to optimise delivery and continue the ongoing management of the commitments undertaken; as well as to facilitate the implementation of sustainable farming practices.

An ACRES participant will only be reimbursed for satisfactory attendance at one mandatory ACRES Training course and at one voluntary ACRES training course over the lifetime of the scheme.