Farmers applying to become members of Bord Bia’s Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) have been advised to get their applications in as soon as possible.
Speaking at a recent suckler breeding farm walk in Co. Longford, Bord Bia’s Rebecca O’Halleran told the crowds in attendance that “a surge” in the number of farms applying for SBLAS approval is expected.
Suckler farmers applying for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) are required to become Bord Bia SBLAS members before October 16, 2023 and must remain SBLAS members for the duration of the scheme.
The Bord Bia representative said: “If you’re joining SBLAS, I’d recommend that you get your application in as soon as possible because we are expecting a surge in applications.
She said “there is a bit of a backlog at the minute” and added that for new SBLAS entrants, “it’s taking six to eight weeks” from the date the farmer first makes an application on the phone to the date of the farm audit.
She explained that the application is quick and easy and said “it takes 10 minutes to process the application over the phone. You just need to provide your name, address, phone number and herd number”.
“The application will be processed and in about 6-8 weeks, an auditor will be in contact to schedule a time and a date for an audit,” she said.
SCEP key dates
Members of the new suckler scheme must have attended a SCEP training course and an animal handling course before November 15, 2024.
Genomic samples for the scheme will not be accepted after November 30, of each scheme year.
Calf weights must be submitted within seven days of weighing and no later than November 1, annually.
Calves must be a minimum of 50-days-old before weighing and if a calf or its dam dies before the calf is five-months-old, the pair does not count towards the 80% of the eligible number of animals on the holding that must be weighed.
The closing date for submission of data recorded for Commitment 1 (calf sire, calving ease, birth size and calf vigour) and Commitment 2 (calf quality; calf docility; dam docility; dam milk-ability; dam mothering ability; dam feet and legs; dam teat score; dam udder score; and dam departure reason) is February 15, annually.