Details on a second scheme that will be made available to suckler farmers are expected to be announced in the coming six weeks.
The additional scheme will replace the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme – Sucklers (BEEP-S).
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.
The new scheme to replace BEEP-S will have a different title and Agriland understands approximately €30 million has been set aside in Budget 2023 for the BEEP-S replacement scheme.
There are no final details available as yet on how the replacement for the BEEP-S will look, but it is expected the new scheme will include similar measures to BEEP-S minus the weighing element.
In 2022, BEEP-S had a funding provision of €40 million and targeted the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves by measuring the liveweight of the calf at weaning as a percentage of the cow’s liveweight.
Applicants to the scheme could also select from a number of optional health and welfare measures, including meal feeding or vaccination of weanlings; and/or faecal egg testing of suckler cows.
SCEP scheme update
Suckler farmers will get “a derogation” in year one, if they do not meet requirements set out in the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) in relation to calves sired from a four/five-star source, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed.
The SCEP terms state that in scheme years one and two, 80% of the calves must have been sired by a four/five-star source.
In response to a question raised by Agriland at an information event, Peter Harte from the DAFM beef schemes section said that there will be no penalty for farmers who fail to meet this requirement in year one of the scheme.