The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has called for farmers rearing calves to get €100/calf in Budget 2024 for the rearing phase of the animal’s life.
This payment, the IFA said, should be used to support farmers for rearing high Commercial Beef Value (CBV) animals.
The association said that, with a particular emphasis on reducing age of slaughter in order to meet agriculture’s climate targets, animal performance throughout its lifetime “must be maximised” to achieve any reduction in slaughter age.
The IFA is also calling for famers in the store and finishing stage to receive direct support in Budget 2024 at a rate of €100/animal “to support best practice and ensure the performance of these animals is maximised to achieve the optimum slaughter age for animal and production system”.
In the run up to the national budget, the association reiterated criticism of the National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS), which Declan Hanrahan, the IFA’s national livestock vice-chairperson, said “has been a huge disappointment”.
“It’s underfunded and includes measures with 100% leakage of monies to service providers,” Hanrahan said.
“This scheme must be revisited and the IBR (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis) testing component removed and replaced with practical measures that add value to the farm without interfering with the marketing of our animals.
He added: “The funding of this scheme for next year must be increased in Budget 2024 to deliver €300/cow when combined with the SCEP (Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme) and be based on measures that add value on our farms while minimising leakage of the monies.”
In relation to SCEP specifically, the IFA is calling on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue to align the genotyping costs for suckler farmers in the scheme with those in the National Genotyping Programme.
“Partaking in the National Genotyping Programme for suckler farmers would simplify the genotyping aspect of SCEP for 2024, facilitating genotyping of calves at birth to meet the genotype requirement,” Hanranhan said.
“However, the minister must do more on the costs for suckler farmers in the programme.”
He added: “All genotyping should be the same price but at a minimum, where suckler farmers join the National Genotyping Programme, they should not be charged any fees for samples tested above the SCEP requirements.”