The deadline for completing all measures for the BEEP-S scheme is Saturday 31 October.
With a potential payment of €90/cow for the first 10 cows and €80/cow for subsequent cows up to a maximum of 100, it will be a much-needed support payment for suckler farmers.
The payment is made up of three components:
Weight recording of both cow and calf and submitting weights to the ICBF. This is a compulsory measure. Payment rate is €50 per cow-calf unit for the first 10 cows and €40 per unit for every cow-calf pair after this, up to a maximum of 100 cow-calf units.There were two options for the second action. Farmers either selected meal feeding pre- and post-weaning - or vaccination of calves for respiratory diseases (pneumonia). This action carries a payment of €30/calf.The third action was optional and qualifies for an additional payment of €10/cow for faecal egg testing or dung sampling cows to control liver fluke.Weighing
All cow-calf pairs must be weighed on the same day and this must take place prior to the calves being weaned. Therefore, there is still an opportunity for some farmers who are yet to wean calves to carry out this measure.
The weights must then be submitted to the ICBF within seven days of being taken. This can be done online or by calling the ICBF for a paper form.
However, having this paper form delivered, filled out and returned by the deadline will be difficult, so online should be used where possible.
Weights must be recorded using a registered weighing scales. This can be your own scales or you can rent or borrow a third party scales.
A list of providers of scales for rent can be found by going to the ICBF website and clicking on the BEEP-S button. A rental cost of €50/day will apply.
You can also use a neighbour’s or friend’s scales, but they must be used on your holding and will still need to be registered prior to submitting any weight records.
Meal feeding
Meal feeding to calves pre- and post-weaning was an optional measure. However, it was quite popular, with more than 80% of farmers choosing to do so.
Calves must be fed an appropriate weanling ration for four weeks pre- and two weeks post-weaning.
Receipts of meal dockets should be retained, as they will need to be produced should your farm be inspected by the Department.
Vaccination
Fewer farmers chose the vaccination of calves option. This involves a pneumonia vaccination protocol for calves pre-weaning.
While there are two vaccination protocols outlined in the scheme's terms and conditions, it must be suited to your farm and so farmers should speak with their vet to decide the best option.
Dung sampling
The other measure that there is still time to carry out where it has not already been done so is the liver fluke faecal egg sampling of cows.
This measure carries a payment of €10/cow and was an optional measure – not everyone will have selected it.
Dung sampling kits must be purchased from approved Department of Agriculture laboratories.
A list of these can be found on the Department website under the BEEP-S section.
Again, sample kits must be returned to an approved lab by the deadline (31 October), which will mean they will need to have arrived at the lab by close of business on Friday evening in most cases.
The deadline for completing all measures for the BEEP-S scheme is Saturday 31 October.
With a potential payment of €90/cow for the first 10 cows and €80/cow for subsequent cows up to a maximum of 100, it will be a much-needed support payment for suckler farmers.
The payment is made up of three components:
Weight recording of both cow and calf and submitting weights to the ICBF. This is a compulsory measure. Payment rate is €50 per cow-calf unit for the first 10 cows and €40 per unit for every cow-calf pair after this, up to a maximum of 100 cow-calf units.There were two options for the second action. Farmers either selected meal feeding pre- and post-weaning - or vaccination of calves for respiratory diseases (pneumonia). This action carries a payment of €30/calf.The third action was optional and qualifies for an additional payment of €10/cow for faecal egg testing or dung sampling cows to control liver fluke.Weighing
All cow-calf pairs must be weighed on the same day and this must take place prior to the calves being weaned. Therefore, there is still an opportunity for some farmers who are yet to wean calves to carry out this measure.
The weights must then be submitted to the ICBF within seven days of being taken. This can be done online or by calling the ICBF for a paper form.
However, having this paper form delivered, filled out and returned by the deadline will be difficult, so online should be used where possible.
Weights must be recorded using a registered weighing scales. This can be your own scales or you can rent or borrow a third party scales.
A list of providers of scales for rent can be found by going to the ICBF website and clicking on the BEEP-S button. A rental cost of €50/day will apply.
You can also use a neighbour’s or friend’s scales, but they must be used on your holding and will still need to be registered prior to submitting any weight records.
Meal feeding
Meal feeding to calves pre- and post-weaning was an optional measure. However, it was quite popular, with more than 80% of farmers choosing to do so.
Calves must be fed an appropriate weanling ration for four weeks pre- and two weeks post-weaning.
Receipts of meal dockets should be retained, as they will need to be produced should your farm be inspected by the Department.
Vaccination
Fewer farmers chose the vaccination of calves option. This involves a pneumonia vaccination protocol for calves pre-weaning.
While there are two vaccination protocols outlined in the scheme's terms and conditions, it must be suited to your farm and so farmers should speak with their vet to decide the best option.
Dung sampling
The other measure that there is still time to carry out where it has not already been done so is the liver fluke faecal egg sampling of cows.
This measure carries a payment of €10/cow and was an optional measure – not everyone will have selected it.
Dung sampling kits must be purchased from approved Department of Agriculture laboratories.
A list of these can be found on the Department website under the BEEP-S section.
Again, sample kits must be returned to an approved lab by the deadline (31 October), which will mean they will need to have arrived at the lab by close of business on Friday evening in most cases.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: