Measures to support mountain pasture activities - year 2025

This is an aid for mountain pasture activities, provided for byArticle 24 of Provincial Law no. 4 of 28 March 2003, and in compliance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472.

The main objective is to support farms practising mountain pasture, recognising the benefits of this practice for animal welfare. Mountain grazing, i.e. the grazing of animals in the mountains, helps to improve animal health, reduce stress and promote sustainable mountain land management.

The aid is intended to compensate for the additional costs incurred by farms for mountain grazing, such as land rent, animal transport and pasture management.

The measure is part of a European and provincial regulatory framework that promotes sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection.

For the 2025 call for proposals, a budget of 1,700,000.00 Euro is foreseen. This sum is earmarked to support the contributions envisaged by the measure.

The financial aid consists of a premium of EUR 200.00 per animal brought to the mountain pasture.

However, aid is granted for a maximum of 40 animals per year per beneficiary. This limit was set in order to distribute the available resources fairly among the farms.

Farms must comply with a number of constraints in order to be eligible for aid.

These include the maintenance of commitments related to cross-compliance and those foreseen for intervention SRA08 ACA8 - Action 8.3, which concern the sustainable management of pastures.

There are specific rules on livestock load, grazing period, control of invasive flora and grazing techniques.

The use of sludge and synthetic chemical fertilisers is prohibited and only herbicides and plant protection products permitted in organic farming are allowed.

The beneficiaries of this aid are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in primary agricultural production.

These enterprises must comply with the definition of SMEs set out in Regulation (EU) 2022/2472. According to Provincial Law No. 4/2003, these are individual agricultural enterprises or companies set up to run agricultural enterprises.

A fundamental requirement is that applicants must have the status of 'active farmer', as established by Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and must have a place of business in the Province of Trento.

In addition, beneficiaries must have a farm file validated at the Autonomous Province of Trento's Paying Agency (APPAG) and an active farm code in the National Data Bank of the Livestock Register (BDN) for the bovine species, located in the Province of Trento.

Companies that have received a recovery order following a decision by the European Commission for unlawful aid and companies in financial difficulty, as specified in Regulation (EU) 2022/2472, are excluded from aid.

Applications must be submitted by the owner of the agricultural enterprise or by the Provincial Federation of Breeders, which is expressly delegated to do so and to collect the contribution on behalf of the member.

Submission can take place from 19 May to 3 July 2025, exclusively through the computerised procedures available on the portal https://srt.infotn.it.

It is important to remember that if the application is not submitted in this way, it will be inadmissible.

To be eligible for aid, farms must meet some specific eligibility criteria.

First of all, mountain pasture must last at least 70 days in the period between 1 June and 15 September. This requirement is essential to ensure that the animals spend sufficient time in mountain pasture.

At least 70% of female cattle between 7 months and 3 years of age (or until first calving) must be taken to alpine pasture.

The animals must be continuously kept on farms located in the Province of Trento.

Cross-compliance rules for farms participating in rural development interventions must be respected. Pastures used for mountain grazing must be associated with mountain pastures whose managers have adhered to intervention SRA08 - ACA8 - Action 8.3 of the CAP National Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

Finally, pastures must be located in the province of Trento, or in extra-provincial territories if the malghe are owned by municipalities or ASUCs of the province.

The application for aid must be submitted exclusively online, through the SRTrento portal of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

To access the online service, you must be registered on the SRTrento portal.

The application must be completed and digitally signed with a valid electronic signature device.

It is important that the application is signed by a person authorised to legally represent the company.

If a member delegates the Provincial Breeders' Federation to submit the application and collect the contribution, this delegation is valid until revoked.

For any assistance in accessing and enabling access to the portal, please contact the email: helpdesk.srtrento@provincia.tn.it.

The application must be submitted before the start of alpine grazing and therefore before the cattle enter the alpine pasture for grazing.