Last autumn, I applied for the special payment to beef finishers – the BEAM scheme.

It was administratively straightforward and the money was lodged before Christmas.

Until the other day, I had forgotten that one of the central conditions of the scheme was that between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, I had to show a 5% reduction in my livestock numbers when compared with the year July 2018 to July 2019.

In switching from my 22-month-old bulls, each of which counted as 0.6 of a livestock unit to the dairy-bred steers, I am going to have an artificial increase in my stock numbers, as all of the bullocks slaughtered will be 25 to 28 months, so these animals will count as a full livestock unit. If I fail to meet the 5% reduction I have to return the €10,000. There is no point in panicking next May so I will have to plan the autumn 2020 and spring 2021 purchasing carefully.

I am going to have an artificial increase in my stock numbers, as all of the bullocks slaughtered will be 25 to 28 month

For those who remember the late 1990s and early 2000s, the same arithmetic had to be done in working out eligibility for the extensification premium that operated during those years.

I will await the precise terms surrounding the new compensation scheme that was announced at the end of last week with interest. In any event, we are continuing to sell the dairy-bred steers in dribs and drabs as they become fit.

We are having no great difficulty so far in getting them into a fat score of 3= or 3+ but I am deeply concerned with the lack of profitability and the conformation scores with a high proportion of P and O-.

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