On Thursday Nigel Donaldson and family opened the gates of their farm for a walk organised by ABP and Certified Irish Hereford Prime supported by ICBF, Board Bia, SuperValu and Animal Health Ireland.
Nigel and his family are farming just outside Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, milking 42 cows alongside 20 suckler cows and bringing all cattle through to beef.
Nigel has a soft spot for the Hereford breed, with all cows that are not served with dairy being mated to Hereford. He also has a suckler herd consisting of Hereford-cross cows also mated back to a pedigree Hereford bull.
All cattle on the farm are finished through the Advantage Beef Programme by ABP with steers slaughtered at 19 months and heifers at 18 months. All cattle are also killed under the Irish Hereford Prime bonus scheme.
In 2025, 58 cattle were processed through the Advantage Beef Programme with the sustainability bonus paid on these cattle, generating an additional €3,120. For 2025, Nigel’s steers were slaughtered at an average age of 19 months with a carcase weight of 291kg and these steers carried an average commercial beef value (CBV) of €174. His heifers had a CBV average of €197 and were finished at 18.4 months with a carcase weight of 266kg.
On the night, Sean Cassidy from ABP explained the Advantage Beef Programme and how farmers can avail of the 20c/kg sustainability bonus on cattle that meet the criteria.
Sean also went through a number of initiatives ABP also facilitates, including the Bull Improvement Initiative which offers farmers a €500 payment towards buying a new stock bull. Nigel had availed of this offer in 2025 and his new bull was on display at the farm walk.
ABP also launched a new Young Farmer Academy programme where it covers the purchase price of the calf and offers interim payments to young farmers with the calf price and interim payment deducted from the final slaughter price.
“We want to support young farmers and understand how hard it is for young people to enter and get established farming,” Sean said. “This Young Farmer Academy allows farmers get up and running for a number of years without having to borrow or fork out big money for calves at the start.”
Bonus restructure
On the night, farmers were given a glimpse at what will change under the new restructure. There will be two new pillars added onto the current breed bonus of 10c/kg, which will increase the potential bonus up to 20c/kg for eligible cattle.
The two new pillars will add 5c/kg each onto the current breed bonus and are both optional if they suit farmers. The new restructure will come into effect in September 2026 for all eligible cattle.
Sustainability pillar
The sustainability pillar will add 5c/kg to qualifying cattle. Farmers are required to sign up to AgNav, complete a whole-farm sustainability programme and select three qualifying actions from a list of over 53 possible actions. Some of the actions farmers are eligible to select are:
Actions must be completed by 2029.
Genetics pillar
The genetics pillar is relative to each individual animal and will add a further 5c/kg to the price paid to farmers for eligible cattle.
From September, cattle must have a Hereford sire recorded or be genotyped. Building on this – from 2028, to qualify for the bonus – cattle must have a minimum CBV of €100.
In 2029, these cattle will be required to have their CBV verified and only cattle with a verified genotype will be eligible for the genetics bonus of 5c/kg.
Standard breed bonus
The standard bonus of 10c/kg that is currently paid will remain the same, with the restructure offering farmers an additional 5c/kg to 10c/kg bonus. The current requirements are:
Cattle must not have more the four farm moves, must have spent a minimum of 70 days on a Board Bia Quality Assured farm and over 60 days on the presenting farm prior to slaughter.
SHARING OPTIONS