There is a tight timeline for farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) or the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS) to record required liveweights, with the deadline fast approaching at 5.30pm on 1 November.

Weights recorded after this timeframe will not be deemed eligible for inclusion and will result in the loss of payment and, in the case of SCEP, possible penalties being sanctioned.

For SCEP, participants must weigh at least 80% of eligible animals born on the holding of the yearly reference number along with weighing their dams.

ICBF database

Weights must be recorded on the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) database. This can be done directly via the ICBF portal, through approved herd management software packages or via the postal return of hardcopy forms.

If the latter is utilised then forms must be posted to arrive before 5.30pm on 1 November.

It is important to note that year four of SCEP runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 so this needs to be taken in to account when assessing if this target has been met.

There is a useful resource on the ICBF portal to track your progress. The weighing progress will be clearly listed on the SCEP herd profile under the ‘Genotype Samples’ compliance table.

Key points

The following are key points to remember:

  • For a calf to be deemed eligible for including their weights it must be born in the herd, un-weaned and weighed with its dam on the applicant’s holding on the same day.
  • Where a calf or its dam dies before five months of age, this must be recorded on the Animal Movement and Identification system (AIM). These animals will not contribute to the 80% target figure.
  • All calves being submitted for weighing must be eligible for the scheme.
  • The calf must be a minimum of 50 days old before they are eligible to be weighed.
  • Only registered scales used in accordance with the requirements may be used.

    • Scales registration

    Scales may be registered through the ICBF portal. To register your own scales go to ‘Services’ followed by ‘SCEP’, then ‘Weighing Information’ and ‘View / Register Owned Scales’. The process is similar where you have borrowed a scales and in this case the last step is replaced by selecting ‘View / register Third Party Scales’.

    For those hiring a weighing scales through your local co-op a booking can be made in advance online at https://www.icbf.com/the-weighing-scheme/.

    The scales registration will be automatically assigned to your herd and be available to select for the date in question when recording weights.

    Dairy beef weighing

    There is only one action in the NDBWS to weigh and record weights with ICBF. There is a payment of €20 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 50 calves. The Department has stated that the number of animals eligible for payment will be reduced where the scheme is oversubscribed for the funding available. The maximum number was reduced from 50 calves to 31 calves in 2025.

    Key points

  • An eligible calf shall mean a calf which was born between 01 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
  • It must be a male calf of a dairy breed, and/or a male or female calf sired by a beef breed sire born to a dairy breed dam.
  • Calves must have been registered within 27 days of age.
  • Applicants must weigh a minimum of five eligible calves and up to a maximum of 50 calves and submit the weights to the ICBF.
  • Calves must be at least 12 weeks old at the time of weighing and be registered in an applicant’s herd for at least 10 days before weighing.