Final details revealed on new €3,375 suckler scheme
The final details on the new Beef Welfare Scheme for suckler farmers with a maximum payment of €3,375/herd as part of the suckler scheme have been confirmed.
Speaking to Agriland, the Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA's) livestock chair Declan Hanrahan confirmed that the total payment will be €75/suckler calf where all the measures are completed.
Hanrahan also confirmed that the upper limit will be increased from 40 weanlings to 45 eligible weanlings but emphasised that the farm organisation had pushed for no upper limit for the number of suckler-bred weanlings eligible for payment.
The news comes as farm lobby groups met with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) this morning (Thursday, April 17), to finalise the scheme conditions.
The key changes to the the 2025 Suckler Beef Welfare Scheme are as follows:
- Maximum number of suckler weanlings eligible increased from 40 to 45 head;
- Maximum payment increased from €50/weanling last year to €75/weanling this year;
- Third optional measure offering a payment for either silage sampling or faecal egg sampling;
- Scheme worth a maximum of €75/weanling or €3,375/herd where all measures are availed of for the maximum eligible number of 45 calves.
The scheme is expected to be opened in August of this year with scheme measures to be completed by October 17 of this year.
Suckler farmers who apply for the scheme will have a range of three different measures they can complete to receive the maximum payment.
The table below details the three measures and the payment rates under the scheme:
| Category | Measure(s) | Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Category A | Meal feeding | €35/weanling |
| Category B | Clostridial or respiratory vaccination | €15/weanling |
| Category C | 3 silage samples or 2 dung samples | €25/weanling |
| Total | €75/weanling |
Category A is mandatory and offers applicants a payment of €35/eligible calf for meal feeding. Category B and Category C are optional.
The measures for Category B will be focused on either clostridial or respiratory vaccination offering a payment of €15/eligible calf.
Category C will offer farmers a payment of €25/eligible calf where farmers can opt to undertake either three silage samples or two faecal egg tests.
The budget for the scheme has increased from €20 million to €28 million for this year.
Commenting on the scheme, IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan encouraged farmers to avail of the initiative and said: "IFA has been looking for the measures to have minimal cost to the suckler farmer because if you have a farmer with 10 or 15 suckler cows and they have to spend €250 to draw down €300, it's of little benefit to the farmer and the last thing you want is money left behind in any support scheme."
"Farmers now know what they have to do to secure payment. Before this, in category C to draw down the €25 was a combination of silage and dung sampling which was complicating it. In the final conditions, farmers can select either silage sampling or dung sampling."
The IFA livestock chair encouraged suckler farmers to avail of the scheme and advised them to retain dockets for the relevant measures.
