Farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) who have not met the requirement of at least 50% eligible females in their herd, have been offered a third reference date to meet the requirement.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said: “There are a cohort of SCEP participants who are still awaiting results of genomic samples that were submitted to the labs on or by October 31, 2023.
“A text issued to those participants on Friday, November 24, 2023, advising them of a further extension to the female replacement strategy until January 22, 2024.
“A letter will issue to the affected herds over the coming days advising them of this further extension.”
DAFM has said that this extension is being granted until January 22, 2024, at which stage affected participants will be reassessed to determine if they have met the requirement of at least 50% eligible females in their herd on that date.
This extension applies to the 2023 scheme year only.
SCEP penalty
Participants who are eligible to avail of this extension to January22, 2024, will not be paid in December 2023 for Action 2, the Female Replacement Strategy which represents 20% of the SCEP payment.
A further penalty will be applied as set out in the SCEP Terms and Conditions. This penalty is 10% of the payment for Action 2.
However, should the participant subsequently be deemed compliant with the Female Replacement Strategy requirement on January 22, 2024, they will receive the payment for Action 2 and be refunded the penalty applied to non-compliance with Action 2.
This payment will be made by way of a supplementary payment, according to DAFM.