The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has announced the closing date to submit applications for Landscape Actions (LAs) under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

Farmers who are participating in the Co-operation (CP) Approach scheme have been informed that the deadline to make applications for LAs is Thursday, May 28, 2026.

The current application window for Landscape Actions opened on February 11.

The department said it is currently proposed that the third application window for LAs will open in the third quarter of 2026.

Landscape Actions

Landscape Actions are a range of voluntary complementary environmental actions available to participants in ACRES CP.

The actions deal with issues such as invasive species, encroaching scrub management in species-rich grassland and issues affecting threatened species and water quality protection.

The department said these actions have been designed to "target environmental issues, which have been highlighted in the scorecards for results-based payments and are causing a reduction in the score achieved".

"The targeted implementation of these actions should improve the results-based score achieved on that field/commonage in coming years leading to an increased payment," DAFM added.

ACRES

Applications for LAs are submitted by the ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Teams on behalf of participants in their respective areas.

The department said that a number of applications have already been submitted in this second application window for LAs.

DAFM reminded farmers that LAs must not be undertaken in advance of receiving a decision letter as approval is subject to the outcome of the environmental screening and validation of the application.

ACRES is a national agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027.

The scheme is co-funded by the National Exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union.