The Beef Environment and Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) scheme was launched two weeks ago by the Minister of Agriculture Michael Creed.

The scheme was announced as part of budget 2019 in October 2018 and was seen as a method of supporting the suckler cow, through a payment of €40/calf once certain actions were undertaken.

The scheme is a one-year pilot scheme with no obligations to continue after year one.

The objective of the scheme is to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of the suckler herd through better quantity and quality of data.

It aims at improving weaning efficiency of suckler cows by collecting liveweights of their calves pre-weaning.

Application process

The application period is from 4 February to 22 February and applications can be made online at www.agfood.ie.

If you require a paper application form you need to contact the beef section in the Department of Agriculture in Portlaoise on 076-1064420 to get a preprinted form.

Eligibility

All suckler bred calves (beef sire by beef dam) born between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019. Calves must be weighed before they are weaned and cows and calves must be weighed on the same day. Weights must then be uploaded on icbf.com within seven days of weighing.

Animals must be weighed individually and, based on your calving pattern, ICBF will suggest an optimum time for weighing, but weights can be taken outside this time frame.

No BEEP payment will be made unless all BVD persistently infected (PI) animals born prior to 1 January 2019 have a date of death recorded prior to 31 March 2019.

As with any Department of Agriculture funded scheme, a certain number of inspections will take place to ensure data is being captured correctly.

Weigh scales

  • You can rent a set of scales from an approved field service agent ie a mart or co-op. Scales can be rented out on a daily basis. The likely cost will be €50/day.
  • You may use owned or borrowed scales. All scales must be preregistered before weighing.
  • The registration facility will be made available on the ICBF website. Manufacturing details along with the serial number will be required.

    Weighing scales may be owned, borrowed or rented but must be registered with ICBF beforehand at www.icbf.com.

    Key points

  • All beef calves weighed must be born between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019.
  • Unweaned live calves and their dam must be weighed on the same day.
  • Only scales registered for use may be used.
  • Weights must be taken between 8 March and 1 November.
  • Questions

    Who can apply?

    Suckler farmers must have one or more beef breed animals born in the herd between 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019 to make an application .

    What number of animals will be paid on?

    Payment will be made on the number of unweaned calves born on the holding between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019 and where the weights of both the live calf and their live dam have been recorded and submitted to ICBF within 7 days of weighing.

    Will there be selection criteria applied if it is oversubscribed?

    There is an overall budget of €20m set for the programme. In the event of oversubscription, there may be a linear reduction to each payment.

    Do you have to be in the BDGP to apply?

    No, farmers that are not in BDGP can apply for BEEP.

    Does the sire (bull) have to be a purebred/pedigree bull?

    No.

    Is the reference number of animals for BDGP linked to BEEP?

    There is no connection between the reference number of animals for BDGP and BEEP.

    Will I be paid extra for twins?

    Yes, provided weights are recorded for cow and both calves.

    When will payment issue?

    Payments will commence in December 2019 and applicants will be paid provided all weighings have been submitted and recorded correctly by 01 November 2019.

    Where can I get details of the rental model locations?

    Information will be made available on www.icbf.com

    Where can I enter the weights?

    You can enter weights using smartphone apps, the ICBF webpage and farm software. An official paper form will also be available from ICBF.

    When can I start to submit weights?

    Between 8 March 2019 and 1 November 2019.

    Cows and calves must be weighed on the same day with weights submitted to ICBF within seven days of weighing.

    Adam Woods comment

    The BEEP scheme has been broadly welcomed by farmers and I think farmers are right to do so.

    There have been some negative comments around the scheme in relation to the labour and hassle of weighing and also in relation to penalising heavy cows.

    Some of this is warranted while other theories around the thought that this scheme is a precursor for a carbon tax on the suckler cow have proven to be unfounded.

    It’s important to inform yourself with facts when making important decisions about your business and the future of it

    We have checked this out and there are no plans for an introduction of a carbon tax on suckler cows.

    There would be uproar, and rightly so, if something like this was introduced and I don’t think farmers or farming organisations would allow it happen.

    It’s important to inform yourself with facts when making important decisions about your business and the future of it.

    Any of the farmer meetings I have attended in the past two weeks have been positive towards it with all farmers I spoke to joining the scheme.

    Scheme payment

    Many see it as a payment for something they were doing or should be doing to drive on the best possible performance in the suckler herd.

    One farmer with 70 suckler cows told me “It will be one of my best paid days on the farm this year, I’ll get €2,800 for running the cows and calves through the crush. OK, I’ll have to pay a man to help but it’s still good money. Its great data for me as well to compare cows’ performance.”

    When making your decision to join, it’s important to block out the noise and listen to the facts.

    If you have five cows in a herd underperforming with calf weight gains at 0.8kg rather than 1.0kg/day, this equates to 48 kg lighter at a weaning age of 240 days. If weanling price was 2.50/kg that’s €120/calf or €600 across the five calves that’s being lost to reduced weight gain and underperformance.

    How many people are able to pick this out without weighing?

    A significant driver of profitability on suckling to weanling farms is weaning weight

    Climate change issues won’t go away and if farmers are serious about climate change and are serious about being part of the solution and not the problem, then maybe this is an opportunity to demonstrate how efficient our suckler herds can be.

    If we are serious about our future in suckling, then surely weighing and monitoring performance should be a part of this.

    A significant driver of profitability on suckling to weanling farms is weaning weight, however it’s the one area where ICBF have poor data on.

    Capturing more cow and calf weight data will increase the reliability of the replacement index over time.

    More importantly it will highlight the cows and calves under performing in your herd.

    We can’t expect handouts and any support will have conditions attached

    Any farmer I know that started weighing cattle as part of performance monitoring never ceased weighing and many now use it as a management tool.

    The payment of €40/calf, while a long way off what support is needed for the suckler cow is a starting point.

    We can’t expect handouts and any support will have conditions attached, and this to me is a relatively painless exercise.

    Margins are extremely tight in suckling at the moment, this programme is worth €2,000 to a 50 cow herd and shouldn’t be dismissed.