Results Based
Results Based Field Scoring​
​Results based payments are annual payments to farmers for ecosystem services delivered. These services are delivered by managing grassland, woodlands and peatlands for biodiversity, safeguarding water quality and preserving the cultural heritage of the landscape.
The results based payments are derived from a field scoring assessment done in years 1,3 and 5 by the Farm Advisors during summer.
Criteria that make up the field score include grazing out fields at the right time to allow for flowers to bloom, clean springs and streams, low levels of encroaching scrub and weeds, and appropriate feeding practices all contribute to a high field score. Conversely, the under-grazing or over-grazing of fields, and issues such as mucky springs, increasing levels of scrub taking over species-rich areas and damaging feeding practices such as ring-feeding can all contribute to reduced field scores. Where scores might be low due to such issues, a range of optional, co-funded actions are available, which the farmer can undertake to help increase the score. Such planned actions come in the form of NPIs and Landscape Actions.
Scorecards
ACRES uses a total of 10 scorecards for the results based scoring. Nine of these are used in the Burren Aran CP Region. Watch the video for an overview of how the scorecards are used or click through the gallery below to download them as a PDF.
Winterage Scorecard
The winterage scorecard has been specifically developed for the assessment of species-rich limestone grasslands and associated grazed habitats found across the Burren region in county Clare & Galway. The scorecard assesses the unique management requirements of these primarily winter-grazed, low-input rough pastures, and also any pressures and threats present, along with the overall ecological integrity of the field.