Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue today (Monday, December 12) confirmed that payments under the 2022 Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) have commenced.
Commenting on the commencement of payments, the minister said: “I am very pleased that payments have commenced under the really important BDGP scheme, which have brought about reductions in Ireland’s greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions while also introducing genetic technology into the national herd thus improving farm profitability.
“The BGDP has also been critical income support for beef and suckler farmers since its inception.
“Payments valued at over €28 million are issuing over the coming days to over 14,500 participants across both programmes.”
BDGP
A one-year transitional BDGP for 2022 saw 16,524 of the original BDGP I scheme’s participants opt to continue in the scheme for 2022.
The second tranche of the original programme, Beef Data and Genomics Programme II, has 1,402 participants, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
This year represents the final year for both schemes as they will be replaced by the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) in 2023.
“I am very excited to see the work continue around the opening of the SCEP. This will build on the success of the BDGP and will pay participants €150/cow on the first 10 animals compared to €90/cow on the first 10 in the outgoing BDGP,” Minister McConalogue added.
The minister also reiterated that “these payments under the Beef Data and Genomics Programmes are in addition to the over €42 million that issued last week under the 2022 BEEP-S [Beef Sector Efficiency Programme] and Dairy Beef [Calf Programme] schemes to over 30,000 participants”.
“This means that we have delivered €70m in supports to beef and suckler farmers in the past week,” he said.
Further BDGP payments will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as more farmers verify their compliance with the 2022 scheme requirements, according to the DAFM.
The minister urged participating farmers “to return all surveys and genotyping samples and/or complete the carbon navigator update as soon as possible to facilitate payment”.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Livestock Committee chair, Brendan Golden has said this is a very important income support for beef and suckler farmers across the country.
“In the context of ongoing discussions about the beef sector, this type of scheme underlines the value and importance of the suckler cow,” he said.
“It’s the cornerstone of the beef sector and underpins the contribution of the sector to the rural economy.”
He said the government has to recognise that the suckler and beef sector supports thousands of jobs in rural Ireland and contributes hugely to the social fabric of towns and villages.