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Register a Farm Partnership
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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A Farm Partnership is where two or more farmers make an agreement to share resources so they can enjoy benefits such as economies of scale and improved work-life balance. Farmers can avail of a number of financial supports aimed at encouraging and maintaining the development of farm partnerships.
Both the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Finance offer a number of financial benefits to help encourage and maintain the development of farm partnerships. These benefits include the Collaborative Farming Grant Scheme and the preferential stock relief for Registered Farm Partnerships. It is also ensured that the members of all registered partnerships are fully catered for in the implementation of farming support schemes such as the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme , Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes and (GLAS) .
All of the main farming enterprises can enter a Registered Farm Partnership: dairying, beef, tillage, sheep and other enterprises such as horticulture, pigs, poultry and goats. There is no transfer of ownership as part of the partnership agreement. When forming a farm partnership all lands and assets - such as production rights, entitlements under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme and other Department schemes - are licensed to the farm partnership. This licence can be built into the written partnership agreement.
Applications for placement on the Department’s Register are accepted and processed all year round.
However, if an applicant wishes to have their RFP number in time for the 2025 BISS deadline, applications with all accompanying documentation must be received by the Farm Partnerships Unit by Friday, 10th February 2025.
The dedicated email address for Registered Farm Partnerships applications and accompanying documentation is RFPApplications@agriculture.gov.ie
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine wish to notify all agricultural advisors and those intending to apply for inclusion on the Department’s Farm Partnership Register, that it intends to transition to a paperless system for all registered partnership applications.
From the 1st January 2023 all applications and supporting documents must be emailed to the contact below
Only fully completed applications with the following documents attached will be processed:
• completed checklist
• completed application form
• Farm Partnership Bank Account Details
• a signed copy of the Partnership Agreement
• copy of folio of all owned lands
• copy of leases for all lands leased in
• evidence of agricultural qualifications for Category II partners
• signed copy of the On Farm Agreement
Where a partnership operates under a single herd number, all partners must have their names added on to that herd number. These changes can be made at the local District Veterinary Office (DVO). In the case of partnerships with more than one herd number, these herd numbers are to stay in the name of the individual owner. The numbers will be linked on our system once the application has been processed.
However, it should be noted that if a partner in the partnership wishes to avail of the Young Trained Farmer’s top-up, they must be named on ONE of the partnership herd numbers via their local DVO.
Once a Registered Farm Partnership (RFP) is fully processed and added to the Register, the RFP Unit will write out to the Partnership informing them of their RFP number. Following receipt of this number, all applications to the Department for ( Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme /Areas of Natural Constraint, Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes, Young Farmers Scheme etc) should be made using this Registered Farm Partnership number.
The Collaborative Farming Grant Scheme was introduced to encourage farmers, who are establishing farm partnerships, to adopt best practice by engaging the help of experts when drawing up the farm partnership agreement.
The form below should be returned to:
Farm Partnership Unit
Address:
Meat & Milk Policy Division 3C Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Agriculture House, Kildare Street D 2.
, D02WK12.
Phone number:
Email for general queries farmpartnerships@agriculture.gov.ie
Email for RFP applications RFPApplications@agriculture.gov.ie
