An emergency fund worth an estimated €1.5m is set to open for tillage farmers in the west hit by poor weather during last year’s harvest. The ‘Crop Loss Compensation’ scheme, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will make a maximum of €5,000 available to up to 300 private tillage farmers. A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture confirmed the new scheme but said it will only support private tillage farmers whose damaged crops had no commercial value and where upwards of 30pc “verified crop loss” volume occurred. “This was a challenging scheme to put tougher in terms of quantifying and verifying dreadful losses to farmers” “It will be a maximum payment of €5,000 per applicant with a ceiling of €200 per hectare. It will be limited to a max area of 25 hectares per applicant,” said the spokesperson. IFA President Joe Healy welcomed the announcement. “The IFA has fought hard for farmers that were very badly affected. The losses threatened livelihoods. What’s important now is that the final details are published without delay,” he said. Earlier this year, The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) carried out a comprehensive survey of the losses following the “wash out" last winter. The association concluded that approximately 245 farmers lost up to €3.032m on grain and €1.073m on straw. Source - http://www.independent.ie