Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has announced the commencement of payments to farmers under the 2025 Multi-Species Sward and Red Clover Silage Measures.

More than €2.1 million will be issued to over 1,200 farmers in the coming days. The Department has maintained the payment rate at €300 per hectare, with eligible applicants receiving support on up to 20 hectares per measure.

Minister Heydon said farmers had continued to show strong interest in both crops this year. He added that the measures had enabled farmers to benefit from the environmental and nutritional advantages of multi-species swards and red clover silage, while also providing valuable information on how best to manage them.

The schemes were introduced to promote environmentally sustainable farming methods, with positive impacts on climate emissions, biodiversity and water quality. Multi-species swards have been shown to deliver high forage yields with significantly less nitrogen fertiliser, reducing costs and emissions. They also improve biodiversity, soil structure and drought tolerance.

Red clover silage, due to its nitrogen fixing ability, produces higher protein content than conventional silage and can yield more than 14 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. This helps farmers reduce concentrate feed bills at a time of rising input costs and environmental pressures.