€28m beef welfare scheme confirmed
The new 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme will open for applications in early August, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon has confirmed.
The 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme will have a budget of €28m and will focus on practical measures to enhance animal health and husbandry on suckler farms.
Commenting on the early announcement, Minister Heydon stressed the importance he attaches to promoting and supporting suckler beef production.
'The 2024 Beef Welfare Scheme proved to be very popular among the target population, with the budget allocation fully spent and over 23,000 farmers paid for participating in it," he said.
"This year's enhanced scheme retains the same measures from last year, but I have increased the overall budget by 40% and lifted the cap on eligible calves from 40 to 45 head. I have also introduced some additional optional measures. As a result, the maximum payment that a farmer can receive will rise from €2,000 to €3,375 for correctly completing three scheme actions. That's an increase of 69% in the total maximum payable.'
Confirming that the scheme will open in early August, as it did in previous years, the Minister said that he is announcing the actions required in advance to give certainty and predictability.
'As with previous national schemes, eligible calves are those born to eligible suckler cows in the period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
"This year's scheme will consist of three measures aimed at improving on-farm efficiency: namely, a mandatory meal feeding action, an optional vaccination action for weanlings and a third optional action which can either be faecal egg testing or silage testing.'
Payment will be allocated as follows: Action 1 (meal feeding) - €35, Action 2 (Vaccination) - €15, Action 3 (Faecal egg testing) - €25.
Minister Heydon added: 'When coupled with the SCEP, participants in the 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme will be eligible to receive €225 per cow/calf pair for the first 22 pairs.'
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