All suckler farmers must be able to access the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP), which is due to come into effect in the coming months, one farming organisation has said.
Chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) livestock committee Brendan Golden, said the scheme is “a vital income support” for these farmers and said that the terms of conditions of it must not be prohibitive for some.
Golden met with senior officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) earlier this week, to highlight a number of issues that must be taken into account before the terms and conditions are finalised.
He said that the terms should be practical, deliverable on farm and should not involve unnecessary bureaucracy, so that the scheme can facilitate the maximum number of farmer participants.
Under the scheme, which is set to open in mid-March, suckler farmers that meet certain requirements will be able to draw down €150/cow for the first 10 cows and €120/cow for all remaining cows on the farm.
“IFA has objected from the outset to the compulsory requirement for farms to be in the Bord Bia Quality Assurance (QA) for the scheme,” said Golden.
He added that QA is is a market requirement and must be rewarded from the market place.
“It’s neither appropriate nor acceptable that suckler farmers will be forced to become Bord Bia Quality Assured in order to be eligible,” he stated.
Speaking about the star ratings requirement for calves born on farms in 2023, the chair said that actions or decisions taken by suckler farmers in advance of the scheme’s opening date should not have an impact on the payment levels received by the farmer.
“Farmers made these breeding decisions long before any CAP Strategic plans were finalised or accepted by the EU Commission and before any scheme terms and conditions were available.
“Therefore, this cannot be used as a mechanism to reduce payments or determine eligibility for farmers in the scheme,” he added.
He also said that farmers must be given “maximum flexibility” in reaching the high genotyping targets that are set out in the scheme’s documents
“The genotyping requirement must allow farmers sample calves at the time of tagging to address the issues experienced with this aspect of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and provide for a more efficient sampling process on farms,” he said.
This flexibility is key to combat problems around generation renewal on suckler and beef farms said Golden.
He said that he believes offering more flexibility will encourage new entrants to the sector to establish reference numbers for scheme payments.
“New entrants must be provided with a rolling reference year to allow for the herd to be built up while participating in the scheme,” he concluded.