Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has announced that decision letters have started to issue on applications earlier this year for Landscape Actions (LAs) under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

The decision letters confirm whether farmers in the co-operation approach of ACRES have been approved for their LA applications.

Under ACRES, Landscape Actions are voluntary environmental actions designed to target environmental issues such as invasive species management, encroaching scrub, threatened species and water quality.

These types of issues have been noted during the assessment of lands of ACRES Co-operation approach participants for the completion of scorecards for the results-based scheme actions, with the presence of these issues causing a reduction in the score achieved.

The targeted implementation of these Landscape Actions should improve the results-based score achieved on that field or commonage in coming years, leading to an increased payment, and also benefitting the local landscape and environment, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Making the announcement, the minister said: "Landscape Actions are voluntary environmental actions, in respect of which farmers in ACRES Co-operation may apply for funding towards their implementation.

"If their application is approved, the implementation of those actions should enhance the environmental status of their holding and, in turn, lead to an increase in their results-based payments under ACRES," the minister added.

The second application window for the submission of Landscape Action applications opened on February 11, 2026 and will remain open until May 28, 2026.

Decision letters

The decision letters being issued this week relate to applications submitted since February 2026 where there is a specific timeframe in which the action should be undertaken.

The issue of the decision letters for these time-sensitive actions is to enable the participants to undertake the relevant action at the earliest opportunity within the ideal timeframe, the minister explained.

All applications for Landscape Actions have to undergo environmental screening, so it is envisaged that decision letters will issue in the third quarter of this year in respect of the remaining applications submitted to date, plus those that may be submitted up to May 28.

"This phased issue of decision [letters] on Landscape Action applications will help maintain momentum in their implementation so that benefits can be derived as soon as possible," Minister Heydon said.

While the current Landscape Action application window will close on May 28, it is proposed that another application window for Landscape Actions will open later this year.

"I therefore again encourage farmers who are participating in the Co-operation approach of ACRES to engage with their local ACRES Co-operation Project Team to identify the opportunities available to them in the form of Landscape Actions appropriate to their lands," Minister Heydon said.