The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed to Agriland that over 1,400 suckler farmers are set to be removed from the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).
These farmers will be removed from the suckler cow scheme as they have failed to apply for Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) approval before the extended deadline date of Monday, October 16.
SCEP applicants who submitted an application to Bord Bia before October 16, will have until January 22, 2024, to become certified.
Responding to a query from Agriland asking DAFM to confirm the number of SCEP applicants that had not applied for SBLAS approval before the deadline, the department said: “There are 1,469 SCEP participants who failed to apply to Bord Bia for SBLAS membership or have applied and subsequently cancelled their SBLAS application by October 16, 2023.
“These participants will be removed from SCEP and no payment will issue for 2023 or subsequent years.”
One of the eligibility requirements for participation in the SCEP is membership of Bord Bia SBLAS by October 16, 2023.
A further extension to this was advised to participants in early October 2023, advising that participants who are not yet certified but who submit an SBLAS application by October 16, 2023 will remain in the scheme, subject to SBLAS certification being awarded by January 22, 2024.
Participants who fall into this category will not receive a 2023 SCEP payment until Bord Bia confirms to the department that they are certified under SBLAS.
Second SCEP reference date
In other suckler scheme news, farmers who are participating in the SCEP and who have not met the requirement of 50% of their yearly reference number of eligible females that are genotyped 4- or 5-stars on October 31, have been offered a second date to meet the requirement.
The DAFM confirmed to Agriland: “For the 2023 scheme year only, participants in SCEP who have not met this requirement on October 31, 2023, will be reassessed on November 24, 2023 to determine if they have met the requirement of at least 50% eligible females in their herd on that date.”