Livestock farmers have been reminded that the closing date for the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) scheme is this coming Sunday, September 8.
Reminding farmers, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) added that farmers must submit an application by Sunday in order to qualify for the €100/head cattle and €40/head suckler payment.
The payments will apply to animals slaughtered between September 24, 2018, and May 12, 2019.
Commenting on the scheme, ICMSA livestock chairman Des Morrison said: “Farmers should also check if cattle they sold in marts or to dealers are eligible.
Under the conditions of the scheme, where an animal has been presented for slaughter by an agent or by a dealer within 30 days of purchase – including those purchased in the mart – payment may issue to the immediate previous herd owner or the previous eligible herd number, where that herd owner is an applicant.
“All farmers applying to the scheme should check on their AIM profile or with their planner to see if they had such animals and if slaughtered within the 30 days, they should apply for payment before Sunday next.”
Morrison said that, in his view, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine should “send out a text to farmers where they have such cattle to make the application process easier”.
Concluding, Morrison repeated the ICMSA’s view that it was an “appalling decision” to exclude dairy farmers milking more than 40 cows from the scheme and it is a “decision that the minister should still review at this late stage”.