New Dairy Beef sheme welcomed

The Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme is a step towards the development of a vibrant dairy beef sector, according to the ICMSA.

Chairperson of ICMSA’s Livestock Committee, Michael O’Connell, said that despite the “very modest” sums involved nevertheless the scheme represents a “win-win-win”.

The additional €20 per head is available to either the breeder of the calf who keeps the calf for a defined period or the rearer of the calf.

Explaining that both parties, breeder and rearer, needed to be paid, Mr O’Connell said calf-to-beef systems have become very specialised and involve a slow return on investment due to the timeframe between buying calves and time of slaughter.

He described the Weighing Scheme as a “carbon copy” of the 2023 CSP Dairy Beef Scheme requiring a “straightforward” online box-ticking exercise.

Both the breeder and the rearer are eligible to apply for the scheme but payment will only be made once on each calf, there will be no duplication of payment.

Noting the budget allocation of €4million made available to the scheme which will cater for a maximum of 200,000 calves, Mr O’Connell said there was a distinct possibility that each farmer may not receive payment on all eligible calves. “Bluntly, we are disappointed by this kind of penny-pinching, and it’s emblematic of the ‘two-steps-forward-one step-back’ attitude the Department has to a sector that could really make a difference on a number of fronts.”