Answering a parliamentary question from Fine Gael's Bernard J Durkan on the amount of support payments paid out to farmers so far this year, the minister said that his Department has recently written to those herds who have outstanding data and/or genotyping samples under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), reminding them to submit these by 29 July.
Approximately 3,000 herds have yet to be paid under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP).
Of the almost 25,000 herds that continue to participate in the BDGP, full or part payments amounting to €40m have issued to in excess of 22,000 herds in respect of the 2015 scheme year.
The part payments were made where not all of the required data and genotyping samples had been submitted, Creed said.
Provided that farmers meet the 29 July deadline, "supplementary payments will be made to those herds who have submitted the additional data and genotyping in the coming weeks," Creed told the deputy.
Payments for 2016 will commence in December following the completion of the required administrative checks.
Carbon navigator
Meanwhile, as we reported earlier this month, farmers in the BDGP have until 31 October to complete a carbon navigator.
It is important to note that completion of the carbon navigator differs from BDGP training, where applicants are contacted and offered a place on an organised course.
For the navigator, applicants must contact an adviser of their choice from the Department list and make an appointment to complete the navigator.
The list of advisers is available on the Department's website, where a guide to completing the carbon navigator is also available.
Pressure to reopen BDGP
Creed has come under pressure from the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) to reopen the BDGP, a six-year scheme that began in 2015, this year, but the new minister has yet to commit to any such move.
IFA environment chair Thomas Cooney has called on Creed to reopen the scheme and GLAS.
"Those schemes need to be reopened if Ireland is serious about climate change," he said. "Some 87% of the measures in the Rural Development Programme are considered to have a carbon-reducing element.”
This week the European Commission unveiled proposed targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in each EU country by 2030.
Under the Commission's proposal, Ireland would have to cut emissions from sectors of its economy outside the Emissions Trading System (ETS) by 30% compared with 2005 levels.
Read more
Environmentalists question Irish agriculture's green credentials
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Answering a parliamentary question from Fine Gael's Bernard J Durkan on the amount of support payments paid out to farmers so far this year, the minister said that his Department has recently written to those herds who have outstanding data and/or genotyping samples under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), reminding them to submit these by 29 July.
Approximately 3,000 herds have yet to be paid under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP).
Of the almost 25,000 herds that continue to participate in the BDGP, full or part payments amounting to €40m have issued to in excess of 22,000 herds in respect of the 2015 scheme year.
The part payments were made where not all of the required data and genotyping samples had been submitted, Creed said.
Provided that farmers meet the 29 July deadline, "supplementary payments will be made to those herds who have submitted the additional data and genotyping in the coming weeks," Creed told the deputy.
Payments for 2016 will commence in December following the completion of the required administrative checks.
Carbon navigator
Meanwhile, as we reported earlier this month, farmers in the BDGP have until 31 October to complete a carbon navigator.
It is important to note that completion of the carbon navigator differs from BDGP training, where applicants are contacted and offered a place on an organised course.
For the navigator, applicants must contact an adviser of their choice from the Department list and make an appointment to complete the navigator.
The list of advisers is available on the Department's website, where a guide to completing the carbon navigator is also available.
Pressure to reopen BDGP
Creed has come under pressure from the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) to reopen the BDGP, a six-year scheme that began in 2015, this year, but the new minister has yet to commit to any such move.
IFA environment chair Thomas Cooney has called on Creed to reopen the scheme and GLAS.
"Those schemes need to be reopened if Ireland is serious about climate change," he said. "Some 87% of the measures in the Rural Development Programme are considered to have a carbon-reducing element.”
This week the European Commission unveiled proposed targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in each EU country by 2030.
Under the Commission's proposal, Ireland would have to cut emissions from sectors of its economy outside the Emissions Trading System (ETS) by 30% compared with 2005 levels.
Read more
Environmentalists question Irish agriculture's green credentials
Adding fresh dimensions to a simple suckler system
Ireland gets maximum flexibility under new climate targets
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