Teagasc is set to fly 900 calves to Belgium next spring in its first charter flight trial.

The confirmation came during a sitting of the Dáil’s agriculture committee on Tuesday, where IFA president Tim Cullinan informed the house the calves will be flown to Ostend in March. “Although it will be almost double the cost of conventional travel, the advantage of flying will be the access to new markets that we will receive,” he said.

The trial flight will consist of unweaned calves aged between two and six weeks of age, with each calf weighing between 30kg and 50kg.

The trial is part of an overall initiative called the Moove Project, which is examining sustainable transport of unweaned calves from Ireland to EU destinations.