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The Department of Agriculture is still finalising its bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) support package for farmers for 2024.
A Department spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it “will continue to provide an extensive range of critical supports for BVD test-positive herds this year to ensure that the risk of future disease breakdown is lowered and the risk to other herds is reduced”.
Tissue tagging of calves under the BVD national eradication programme entered its 12th year in 2024.
Animal Health Ireland has said that tissue tagging will also more than likely continue into 2025.
Payment rate
A €2/head payment up to a maximum of 25 calves born between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023 was in place up until last year.
However, the rate for 2024 is still being finalised, with thousands of calves on the ground already this year.
Last year’s budget for the scheme was €2.25m.
Postage
The cost of posting BVD samples increased on 1 February and farmers will now be charged €2.95 for posting tissue samples to labs.
The price of posting samples is up 50c on last year, as a result of a hike in the cost of postage from An Post.
The €2.95 price covers up to 10 samples packed flat.
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