Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has confirmed that payments under the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme 2025 have commenced.

In total, over €4.09 million has begun issuing to some 8,153 participating farmers. The payments are made on a total of 204,739 calves.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has also confirmed the reduction in the number of eligible calves under the scheme from 50 to 31.

Minister Heydon commented: “I am delighted to confirm that payments have now commenced under the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme, building on the range of support schemes available for beef farmers.

"The National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme helps to support decision making on farms through better quality data on herd performance and to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of the beef from the dairy herd, and to facilitate the further integration of the dairy and beef sectors by providing support for farmers who are rearing progeny from the dairy herd," the minister added.

The core action for the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme was the weighing of eligible calves by November 1, 2025, for which there was a payment of €20 per eligible calf.

Like the National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS) and the National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS), the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme was also oversubscribed.

The minister said: "This is testament to the practical measures within these schemes, where farmers see value in the actions including the weighing of calves.

"Within the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme, over 305,000 calves were weighed by November 1 across 8,381 herds with 26% of these herds weighing more than 50 calves, illustrating the real value farmers see in having this weighing data for calves," he added.

As a result of the over-subscription of the scheme in the order of €1.4 million, the maximum number of calves payable under the scheme has been reduced to 31 calves, the department confirmed.

The minister said "I am acutely aware of the importance of payments under these schemes for the beef sector and the processing of such payments at the earliest possible opportunity remains a key priority for my department.

"I am also happy to confirm that I have secured an allocation of a further €4 million for this scheme in 2026," he added.

Payments welcomed

Cork North-Central TD Colm Burke has welcomed the payments worth €757,631 to farmers in Cork through the scheme.

Deputy Burke said: "This funding announcement underlines Fine Gael’s commitment to backing beef and dairy farmers in Cork with practical schemes delivering real value for families.

“Farmers are responding positively because these measures make a tangible difference to herd management and farm incomes," the TD said.