The clocks have gone back and winter is on the way. Here’s what’s been happening in Irish farming this week.
💶 BISS and CRISS payments finally landing
Advance payments under BISS and CRISS – worth over €500 million – were due on 16 October but were held up by public sector industrial action, with the Department initially saying they wouldn’t issue until 27 October. Minister Martin Heydon then confirmed payments would start reaching farmers from Thursday, 22 October. A welcome boost for cashflow after a year of high input costs. Eco-Scheme advance payments of €203 million had already gone out to almost 107,000 farmers earlier in the month.
🌱 €46.2m Fertiliser Exceptional Aid Scheme
The Department has announced a €46.2 million aid scheme for farmers hit by this year’s fertiliser price spikes. There’s no application – payments will be calculated from National Fertiliser Database records and BISS data, with the window to correct records having closed on 23 October. Eligible purchases range from 2.5t up to 100t of chemical fertiliser (lime isn’t included), and payments are expected to begin in early December.
🥛 September milk prices
- Tirlán: 40.08c/L including VAT and its Sustainability Action Payment, up 1c/L – also its floor price for September to December. The average actually paid on delivered constituents was 50.80c/L.
- Dairygold: quoted price up 1c/L to 40c/L, equating to an average farm-gate price of 51.3c/L on suppliers’ milk solids.
- Lakeland Dairies: base price of 39.7c/L in the Republic, up from 39.1c/L.
- Carbery: also up 1c/L.
🌾 Grain harvest down 14%
An IFA grain committee survey puts total 2026 grain output at about 1.92 million tonnes – around 14% below last year. Winter oilseed rape was the standout crop, while spring barley yields varied widely. Straw was saved in great condition, though, and is proving valuable for farmers stretching silage this winter.
🐄 Beef kill catching up
Department figures show the cumulative beef kill for 2026 is now close to last year’s level, having run behind in the first half of the year and ahead in recent months, with weekly kills thousands of head above the same weeks of 2025.
📅 Deadlines coming up
- 1 November: suckler cow and calf weights for SCEP; dairy beef calf weights for NDBWS
- 6 November: claims for the National Farm Safety Measure
- 4 December: TAMS 3 tranche 14 closes
From the yard
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Sources: Agriland; Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Agriland – fertiliser scheme; Agriland – Tirlán; Agriland – Dairygold; DairyNews; Agriland – grain output; Agriland – beef kill; Teagasc.
