CAP, BISS & ACRES

The new CAP (2023–2027), in plain English

The Common Agricultural Policy was restructured for the 2023–2027 cycle. The single biggest change in Ireland was the replacement of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) with the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS). Entitlements were recalculated to move toward a more uniform per-hectare payment, and part of the overall envelope shifted to eco-schemes and the ACRES agri-environment programme.

What BISS means for a land buyer

• Land with "active" BISS entitlements attached is worth more than identical land without
• Entitlements don't automatically transfer — the contract of sale must specify whether they are included
• Stacking of entitlements is now restricted — excessive per-hectare values are tapered
• Many contracts now value entitlements separately from the land itself

If you're buying working farmland, ask specifically: are BISS entitlements included, and at what value? A solicitor or agricultural consultant will formalise this in the sale agreement.

ACRES — the current agri-environment scheme

The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) replaced GLAS in 2023 as Ireland's main agri-environment scheme. It runs to 2027 and pays farmers for environmental actions — from low-input grasslands to riparian buffers to cooperation in specified high-nature-value zones.

For a land buyer, ACRES matters in two ways:

1. Land currently in an ACRES contract may need that contract's conditions respected until expiry
2. Land eligible for ACRES can support farm income and therefore land rental value

Eco-schemes and conditionality

BISS payments are now conditional on participation in basic eco-schemes (space for nature, crop rotation, low-input grassland, etc.). These add modest income for relatively low-cost compliance — but a change of ownership mid-year can affect eligibility, so dates matter in any land transaction.

Bottom line on CAP and land value

BISS + ACRES income can materially affect the rental value of a farm, and therefore its capital value when sold to an active farmer. For a non-farming buyer (investor, forester, rewilder), the same land often commands a lower price because those income streams don't transfer cleanly. This is one reason the same field can be worth two very different numbers depending on who's buying it — a theme we explore in our valuations guide.