Over 70,000 animals have been weighed to date under the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

There are 35,041 eligible pairs weighed across 2,502 herds with a scales registered, borrowed or rented to date, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has said.

However, there are a small number of herds without a registered scale and the ICBF has advised these herds to take action to rectify this as soon as possible.

Weighing is a core action under the scheme, making up to 20% of the yearly payment, the ICBF said.

The requirement is to weigh the cow and calf on the same day and the calf must be over 50 days of age and not yet weaned from its dam.

The ICBF has said that the ideal time to weigh is when the majority of calves are in the five- to eight-month stage.

Over 20,000 farmers are partaking in the scheme and they will all have to weigh their animals.

Scales

Farmers are being advised by the ICBF to book weighing scales in plenty of time, as demand may be high at peak times.

“Currently, only 15% of SCEP participants have some animals weighed, which is behind where we were this time last year,” the ICBF said.

It is reminding farmers to ensure that they have a valid scales, registered or linked to their herd for their date of weighing. Weights will not be accepted unless they can be linked to a scheme-registered scales.

Scales can be rented through 100 depots spread across the country in co-ops, marts and FRS offices.