The application process for the 2026 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other key schemes is currently open.

Farmers can apply for all elements of direct payments - including BISS, Eco-Schemes, Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers, Protein Aid, National Reserve, and transferring of entitlements - online.

The closing date for BISS applications is Friday, May 15, 2026.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has detailed a number of BISS 2026 updates during a recent series of training sessions for farm advisers.

Changes in 2026

The department outlined that in terms of the scheme selection option, the Multi Species Sward Measure and Red Clover Silage Measure have been removed as they are not operating in 2026 and are subject to review.

DAFM has also outlined that all rented and leased land must have an expiry date entered during the application.

It is not a requirement to upload any documentation at the time of application, but evidence must be available.

As part of the BISS application in 2026, new functionality was introduced which required dairy farmers to indicate the location of the milking platform on their holding.   

Where a holding is identified as supplying milk, all parcels must be classified as one of the following: milking platform; other; no agricultural activity.

According to the Farm Advisory Service, the system is designed to only require the information where the herd is a current milk supplier. 

"However, we are aware that in a number of cases it is not correctly identifying dairy herds," it said.

It is working on a fix with an update due soon on the next steps.

Eco-Scheme

The department outlined that from scheme year 2026, hedgerows, trees, stonewalls on a Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) parcel(s) adjacent to farmyard, recreational areas, buildings, etc., will receive a zero value on the feature.

"The zero value will be represented by a (white line) visible on LPIS maps to indicate where such features up to now had been receiving credit the Space for Nature, (SFN)" DAFM said.

"The SFN percentage on some herds will change because landscape features located adjacent to artificial or man-made features within an eligible hectare will no longer receive credit in terms of SFN."

The DAFM noted that if you chose AP 1 Space for Nature in any or all of the scheme years 2023–2025 inclusive, this change "has nobearing on those scheme years or Eco-Scheme payments received in those years".

The department said that circa 5,000 farmers impacted by this change have been written to in relation to this.

Planting of native trees and hedges

The department said that from 2026, all farmers who apply for Eco-Scheme AP4 must provide proof of purchase of the trees/hedges at the time of the submission of the 2026 application.

"Failure to upload the document at the time of application willmake this action ineligible in 2026 and result in a droppedaction penalty," the department said.

"The receipt must be dated between November 20, 2025 and the date of your 2026 BISS application."

DAFM has said that approved advisers are "critical" to the delivery of farm support schemes.

According to DAFM, each adviser is, on average, submitting claims in excess of €1.5 million on an annual basis.