Programmes help drive efficiency on Irish beef and dairy farms.
€42m has commenced issuing to some 30,000 participating farmers under the Beef Sector Efficiency Programmes (BEEP-S and Dairy Beef).
The BEEP-S programme helps to increase economic and environmental efficiency in the suckler herd through improvement in the quantity and quality of performance data collected, with a view to supporting the adoption of best practice and more informed decision making at farm level.
“These two schemes have proven very popular with farmers. They have provided income supports to farmers while also helping to drive important efficiency gains”
On the Dairy-Beef Scheme, it helps to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of beef from the dairy herd, and to facilitate further the integration of the dairy and beef sectors by providing support for farmers who are rearing progeny from the dairy herd.
The BEEP-S programme targeted the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves, measuring the live weight of the calf at weaning as a percentage of the cow’s liveweight.
Animal health and welfare
“These two schemes have proven very popular with farmers,” said Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue, TD. “They have provided income supports to farmers while also helping to drive important efficiency gains.”
In recognition of the important role of animal health and welfare issues, participants were also encouraged to implement a number of optional health and welfare measures including pre-weaning meal feeding, vaccination programmes and faecal testing.
The core action for Dairy-Beef Scheme was the weighing of eligible calves for which there was a payment of €20 per calf up to a maximum of 40 calves.
The Minister also reminded farmers that the Dairy Beef Welfare scheme will continue in its current format (weighing of dairy beef calves) in 2023.
The Minister concluded: “I am acutely aware of the importance of payments under these schemes for the beef sector and the processing of such payments at the earliest possible opportunity remains a key priority for my Department. We seek to issue payments in a rapid manor to as many farmers as possible and this will continue to be a key priority of mine.”
Main image at top: Photo by Stijn te Strake on Unsplash
