With Friday’s closing date for the Beef Genomics and Data Programme (BGDP) fast approaching, the Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers who are unsure about participation to apply, see what the requirements of the programme are and then make their final decision.

Speaking at last Friday’s ICBF beef and dairy industry meeting, John Carty, Department of Agriculture, told attendees there will be no penalties applied to farmers who apply and then decide that the scheme is not for them. This view was echoed by Brendan Gleeson Department of Agriculture in last Thursday night’s Around the Editor's Table online broadcast.

John said that once applicants who do not wish to proceed with the scheme withdraw before this year’s payment is made (target of October-December), there will be no financial penalties applied.

Replying to a query on the requirement for applicants to cover tagging and genotyping costs, if undertaken before an applicant decides to withdraw from the programme, the ICBF’s Andrew Cromie said that it is very unlikely that farmers will be expected to cover these costs.

“We anticipate that farmers unsure about proceeding will make up their mind when they receive their initial statement from the Department outlining the requirements for their herd. If there are some farmers who genotype and then decide to withdraw, we expect this to be a small number and will more than likely cover these costs”.

Cromie said that a final decision on tagging costs incurred by applicants leaving the programme will be made in the coming weeks and that this will be clarified to farmers when sending out tags for animals selected for genotyping in 2015.