The Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA (NI) wants to remind all farm businesses who claim subsidy payments that there are important changes to the Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) Scheme for 2026 and in future years.
They also would encourage everyone to carefully consider these changes and if they are affected to discuss it with their agents immediately.
FARM SUSTAINABILITY PAYMENT (FSP) SCHEME FOR 2026
All businesses should have received details from DAERA of the important changes that come into effect in 2026 which may impact their farm business. As we move to the new Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP), it is vital you receive all payments for which you are eligible, while ensuring any entitlements are not lost through confiscation during this period of transition.
The FSP application period opens on 2nd March and closes on the 15th May as usual, with the window for trading entitlements being the same dates.
The Chairman of the Association, Damien McCloskey draws your attention to a few important key points:
• DAERA will have written to businesses if they failed the Historic Years’ Exercise (HYE) – had no livestock or grew at least 3 hectares of cereals in 2020 or 2021.
If you are one of these, you MUST transfer all your entitlements out by sale or gift during the entitlement trading period to an eligible farm business which was established with DAERA prior to 18th November 2025, otherwise they will expire on 16th May (confiscated).
It has also been decided that businesses which failed the HYE, but who meet the eligibility criteria for FSP in 2027 will be able to transfer entitlements back into their business by sale/gift/lease and apply for FSP in 2027.
If you choose to do this, please note that you may have to prove Active Farmer (AF) status. This involves keeping detailed records of sales and purchases including invoices and receipts, photographic evidence etc to show you are the person taking the financial risk on the land on which you are claiming. If you are selected for an AF check DAERA will also request bank statements to cross reference your financial transactions. It is important that you do not pay or receive cash!
• Businesses who passed the HYE for the years 2020 and 2021 but then subsequently leased out all their entitlements to another business will NOT be able to do so in 2026 otherwise their entitlements will expire on 16th May 2026. They must either:Submit an eligible FSP application by 15th May 2026 and activate a minimum of 3 entitlements on 3 hectares of eligible land.
OR
Sell/gift their entitlements to an eligible farm business during the entitlement trading period
As the regulations currently stand, a business can chose to lease out all their entitlements from 2027 onwards but must adhere to the above in 2026.
• Businesses who submit a valid claim for FSP in 2026, must activate at least 3 entitlements on 3 hectares of eligible land and can lease out surplus entitlements, will retain all of their entitlements
• If your claim is for 5 hectares or more, you must carry out agricultural activity on at least 3 hectares of land used to activate entitlements.
• However, if your claim is for less than 5 hectares, you must carry out agricultural activity on at lease 2 hectares of land used to activate entitlements.
• You must include all the land you are actively farming in 2026 on your FSP claim to avoid the risk of financial penalties being incurred for under or over declarations. Remember you may be asked to provide evidence of your activity on the land so only claim for the land that you are actively farming. It is not worth the risk!
• Land eligibility changes will make the application process simpler as soft features including rush, scrub, heather, bog etc become eligible. Ineligible features, such as laneways, yards, sites etc, should still be deducted from your FSP claim. The exact eligible area for individual fields will only become available when the LPIS maps go live on the 2nd of March 2026.
• Progressive Capping is new and will only affect a small number of businesses who receive payments above £60,000. It will be phased in over a two-year period - 2026 and 2027 and will not affect the number or unit value of entitlements held by the business. OTHER IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS
• You must have registered for the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS), have your fields analysed and complete either the online or face-to-face training before the 15 May 2027. If not, you will initially lose 10% of your payments in 2027, increasing to 15% in 2028 if the conditionality has not been met. If you did not initially register for the scheme, there is still the opportunity to do so. You should contact the AFBI SNHS admin to express your interest on 02890 255212 or email SNHS@afbini.gov.uk
• If you keep cattle (dairy cows, beef cows and all other cattle), you will have to register to participate in the Bovine Genetics Project before the 15 May 2028 and complete training when it becomes available. I will inform you when this is open for registration.We have registered you all for the Beef Carbon Reduction and the Suckler Cow schemes. Hopefully the Bovine Genetic will be the same format.
• DAERA is currently progressing the development of a Carbon Foot printing Project for Northern Ireland. It is planned that participation in the project will be a conditionality of FSP. Again, I will inform you when this is open for registration.