Certified Irish Angus producer group has announced a partnership with Bank of Ireland to offer sustainability-linked loans to beef farmers for the very first time.

Enviroflex loans are designed to incentivise farmers to continue implementing sustainability-focused improvements on their farms.

The loans offer reduced interest rates to support investment in sustainable practices.   

Enviroflex loans are already available to all dairy farms through 16 established co-op partnerships, and to tillage farmers who are members of Irish Distillers’ grain sustainability programme.

Certified Irish Angus is now the first to partner with Bank of Ireland to support the rollout of Enviroflex loans to the beef sector.

This sustainability-linked financing is now available to members of the Certified Irish Angus Elevate Bonus scheme.

The Elevate Bonus, launched in 2026, is a tailored sustainability programme for Certified Irish Angus’s members to incentivise and reward farmers for delivering sustainability initiatives on their farms.

It has been designed to drive genetic improvement, support sustainability and safeguard the long-term value of Angus cattle produced by Certified Irish Angus producer group members.

Speaking about the initiative, general manager of Certified Irish Angus, Charles Smith said: “As a progressive organisation committed to innovation, education and sustainability in beef production for the last 25 years, Certified Irish Angus is delighted to share this announcement today which we believe will be warmly welcomed by our 12,000 farming members.

"We are confident that Bank of Ireland’s Enviroflex offering will provide targeted support to our members so that they can continue to implement and enhance environmental measures on-farm along with enjoying the genetic improvements of the Angus breed for years to come.”

Bank of Ireland agri development manager, Mark Glennon added: “As the leading agri-lender, Bank of Ireland is delighted to welcome Certified Irish Angus members to the Enviroflex scheme.

"Our aim in developing Enviroflex has always been to make it available to as many farmers as possible across the Irish agriculture industry and to reward farmers for their sustainability actions.

"We understand that a more sustainable farm is a more efficient and profitable one in the long term.”

Certified Irish Angus Elevate bonus 

The Certified Irish Angus producer group Elevate bonus structure has been developed around three strategic objectives: 

Protecting and enhancing the Angus Bonus programme - the programme delivers a robust and consistent bonus payment system, safeguarding the long-term value of Angus cattle produced by Certified Irish Angus producer group members;
Driving genetic improvement - research and trial data consistently show that higher genetic merit cattle deliver greater profitability through improved performance, heavier carcass weights, and reduced age at finish.

The new bonus structure actively promotes:

Improved breeding standards within both pedigree Angus breeding herds and dairy farms using Angus bulls or artificial insemination;
Greater clarity for finishers purchasing calves and stores; 
Enhanced overall quality and consistency of Angus cattle entering the supply chain;
The adoption of commercial beef value (CBV) at farm level and supports the national genotyping programme.

ICBF slaughter data for 2025 showed that Angus steers in the top 20% for CBV had 21kg greater carcass weight than the bottom 20%.

This equated to €170 higher finish price at 27 days younger finish. This reduced slaughter age aids in reduced feed costs and increased profit margin per day.  

3. Supporting sustainability on Irish farms - recognising the importance of environmental performance, the programme also incentivises participation in the AgNav sustainability tool, supporting farmers in understanding and reducing farm emissions while maintaining productivity and profitability.

AgNav is a free, digital platform for farmers developed by Bord Bia, ICBF and Teagasc and is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). It can provide farm-specific sustainability action plans to farmers to reduce emissions and improve water quality.

Enhanced bonus payments 

In addition to the agreed QPS base price, Certified Irish Angus producer group members can avail of the following bonuses: 

€0.10/kg standard bonus for Angus animals that pass Certified Irish Angus inspection;
€0.05/kg sustainability bonus for animals supplied by members enrolled in AgNav who have undertaken a minimum of three sustainability actions;
From 2029, farmers must demonstrate completion of three selected actions to qualify;
€0.05/kg genetics bonus for Angus animals with a recorded sire or that are genotyped;
From 2028, animals must achieve a CBV above the bottom 1/3 of Angus cattle. Currently this value will be above €100;
From 2029, this threshold will increase and will be verified by genotyping only.