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New Baling Assistance Payment scheme launched

Following on from the agriculture minister’s u-turn on pausing the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) this year, he has officially launched the Baling Assistance Payment (BAP) scheme to run in tandem with the SIM.

The BAP scheme is a payment available to successful applicants to the SIM 2024 who have withdrawn a parcel from SIM and decided to bale the parcel instead of chopping/incorporating.
The payment is €175 per hectare for eligible SIM crops, subject to a minimum of one hectare and a maximum of 40 hectares.
The eligible crops under BAP are wheat, oats, barley and rye. Oilseed rape is not an eligible crop under the BAP.
"The €175 per hectare BAP will encourage tillage farmers to consider baling their SIM cereal crops, instead of cropping and incorporating them. I am also encouraging livestock farmers to be proactive and order sufficient fodder supplies. As stated previously I believe that pro-active action is necessary to prevent a potential fodder issue for many farmers this year.”