The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to deliver a payment of €90/cow under a new scheme for suckler farmers.
As reported by Agriland, details on the replacement for the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme – Sucklers (BEEP-S) are expected to be announced in the coming six weeks.
Approximately €30 million has been set aside in Budget 2023 for new scheme.
Previously, BEEP-S paid suckler farmers for weighing suckler cows and calves, however this measure has now been incorporated into the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) which opened for applications on Monday (March 20).
The SCEP is the replacement for the Beef Data Genomics Programme (BDGP) and will pay participating farmers €150/cow on the first 22 cows and €120/cow on subsequent cows.
Suckler scheme
IFA Livestock Committee chair Brendan Golden said that the SCEP is “an important first step” in supporting suckler farmers.
However, he said this scheme is only one part of the supports promised to suckler farmers by Minister Charlie McConalogue.
“We must now see the minister’s proposals for this scheme and the measures within it must have the ambition to return €90/cow for all cows.
“A fully funded BEEP-S scheme with €90/cow, along with the SCEP scheme, has the potential to return €240/cow on the first 22 cows on suckler farms.
“This would be a critical support for the sector to help arrest the decline in suckler cow numbers and support this low-income vulnerable sector from the input cost volatility which the sector cannot absorb,” he said.
Golden said that the social and economic contribution that suckler farmer makes to rural Ireland “must be valued and protected”.
“The minister for agriculture promised suckler farmers a €90/cow scheme to replace the BEEP-S, to be paid in conjunction with the new SCEP scheme. He must now come forward with his proposals to deliver this to farmers as we build towards the target of €300/cow,” he said.