€28.07 million in payments under the Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 have commenced.

Payments have begun issuing to 24,214 participating farmers, supporting 450,895 calves, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon confirmed.

The objective of the Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 is to further increase the economic efficiency of, and enhance animal health and husbandry on, suckler farms.

Scheme actions

The Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 supports farmers in meal feeding suckler calves before and after weaning, in vaccinating against clostridial diseases and/or calf pneumonia and carrying out testing measures, either forage analysis or the faecal egg count.

Meal feeding, which is a mandatory action under the scheme, will be paid at a rate of €35 per eligible calf.

Vaccination (optional action) will be paid at a rate of €12 per eligible calf and the testing action (optional action) will be paid at a rate of €20 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 calves across each action.

Farmers who select and complete all scheme actions will be paid €67 per calf subject to a maximum overall payment of €3,015 (45 calves) which is an increase of €1,015 on the 2024 scheme, according to the department.

Documentation

"Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days," Minister Heydon said.

"The issuing of payment under the Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 is crucial to the beef sector and farm families.

"The processing of such payments at the earliest possible opportunity remains a key priority for my department and is in line with the commitments that my department has entered into under the Charter of Rights for Farmers.”

The minister said that if farmers have received a request to submit meal feeding, vaccination or testing documentation, they should return them as soon as possible.

He added: "I have secured a further €28 million for a continuation of this scheme or a similar scheme in 2026 and discussions have already taken place with the farming organisations on it."