Friday 31 October is a critical day in the calendar for over 23,000 farmers participating in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP I and BDGP II). The majority of participants are in BDGP I and must have at least 50% of the applicant’s reference number of animals genotyped as eligible heifers/suckler cows to meet the requirement.
To be deemed eligible, animals must be genotyped females that are:
Rated as four or five stars on the replacement index (on a within breed or on a cross breed basis) at the time of purchase (for heifers brought into the herd) or at the time of genotyping (for those replacements bred within the herd). Where a non-genotyped replacement heifer is purchased, this animal must be subsequently genotyped and confirmed four or five stars on the replacement index (on a within or a cross breed basis) before being deemed eligible for the programme. Be at least 16 months old. Be born in 2013 or later for animals introduced into the herd after 5 June 2015. The 2013 age rule is not applicable to cows purchased prior to 5 June 2015. Participants in BDGP II must satisfy a target of at least 20% of their reference number of animals rated as four or five stars on the replacement index.
Current compliance
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) reports that as of last weekend, there were in the region of 1,280 herds not currently satisfying the BDGP I 2020 female replacement targets.
This was an improvement of about 200 herds on the previous week and the ICBF expect the figure to drop below the 1,000 mark by 31 October.
A spokesperson for the organisation explained that this figure of non-complying herds also includes a few hundred inactive herds who are registered as being in the scheme, but are not actively participating.
The allowance given by the Department of Agriculture to include animals genotyped four or five stars in the November evaluation should also help to bring more herds into the compliance category.
Note that to avail of this allowance, animals must be in your herd on 31 October. They do not need to remain in the herd until 24 November, the date at which the next evaluation run takes place.
Participants can check their herds latest status through the ICBF website.
Participants will have received an updated herd eligibility profile in recent weeks but they can continue to get the latest eligibility profile of their herd through their herd’s user profile at www.icbf.ie.
This can be secured by selecting the services tab along the menu at the top, selecting BDGP from the dropdown options and then clicking on eligibility profiles.
The female tab will list all females in your herd aged over 16 months on 31 October and confirm if they qualify or not.
Potential penalties
The level of potential penalties for non-compliance has been well documented in recent weeks.
The terms and conditions of BDGP state that where a herd has a compliance rate of between 90% and 100%, there will be a proportionate reduction based on the percentage figure that a herd falls short.
Where the compliance rate is under 90%, then there will be no payment for that action plus there will be a clawback for the other four years.
On top of this, a penalty of twice the yearly payment will be applied, meaning the overall penalty will be the loss of the full payment for the final year in addition to a penalty of 40% of a herd’s annual payment.
Additional requirements
With payments under BDGP targeted for the first week of December, the ICBF is advising participants to complete any outstanding record keeping, including completion of the 2019 carbon navigator and recording of scheme data. Information can be easily recorded online, but those not in a position to do so will receive a hardcopy form in the coming weeks.
The Irish Farmers Journal have received numerous queries in recent weeks regarding the announcement of a scheme for 2021, while the question of whether farmers can sell four and five star animals on 1 November has also featured strongly.
No further details have been announced yet for the 2021 scheme, but it is expected to have similar requirements as those already in place, with the female requirement increased upwards from 50%.
Current participants will have to opt in for future participation. This could influence a farmer’s decision to sell four and five star animals, but there is nothing stopping animals from being sold from 1 November onwards.
BEEP deadline
There is another important deadline on 1 November for farmers participating in the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme and this is discussed in the beef management notes.
Friday 31 October is a critical day in the calendar for over 23,000 farmers participating in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP I and BDGP II). The majority of participants are in BDGP I and must have at least 50% of the applicant’s reference number of animals genotyped as eligible heifers/suckler cows to meet the requirement.
To be deemed eligible, animals must be genotyped females that are:
Rated as four or five stars on the replacement index (on a within breed or on a cross breed basis) at the time of purchase (for heifers brought into the herd) or at the time of genotyping (for those replacements bred within the herd). Where a non-genotyped replacement heifer is purchased, this animal must be subsequently genotyped and confirmed four or five stars on the replacement index (on a within or a cross breed basis) before being deemed eligible for the programme. Be at least 16 months old. Be born in 2013 or later for animals introduced into the herd after 5 June 2015. The 2013 age rule is not applicable to cows purchased prior to 5 June 2015. Participants in BDGP II must satisfy a target of at least 20% of their reference number of animals rated as four or five stars on the replacement index.
Current compliance
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) reports that as of last weekend, there were in the region of 1,280 herds not currently satisfying the BDGP I 2020 female replacement targets.
This was an improvement of about 200 herds on the previous week and the ICBF expect the figure to drop below the 1,000 mark by 31 October.
A spokesperson for the organisation explained that this figure of non-complying herds also includes a few hundred inactive herds who are registered as being in the scheme, but are not actively participating.
The allowance given by the Department of Agriculture to include animals genotyped four or five stars in the November evaluation should also help to bring more herds into the compliance category.
Note that to avail of this allowance, animals must be in your herd on 31 October. They do not need to remain in the herd until 24 November, the date at which the next evaluation run takes place.
Participants can check their herds latest status through the ICBF website.
Participants will have received an updated herd eligibility profile in recent weeks but they can continue to get the latest eligibility profile of their herd through their herd’s user profile at www.icbf.ie.
This can be secured by selecting the services tab along the menu at the top, selecting BDGP from the dropdown options and then clicking on eligibility profiles.
The female tab will list all females in your herd aged over 16 months on 31 October and confirm if they qualify or not.
Potential penalties
The level of potential penalties for non-compliance has been well documented in recent weeks.
The terms and conditions of BDGP state that where a herd has a compliance rate of between 90% and 100%, there will be a proportionate reduction based on the percentage figure that a herd falls short.
Where the compliance rate is under 90%, then there will be no payment for that action plus there will be a clawback for the other four years.
On top of this, a penalty of twice the yearly payment will be applied, meaning the overall penalty will be the loss of the full payment for the final year in addition to a penalty of 40% of a herd’s annual payment.
Additional requirements
With payments under BDGP targeted for the first week of December, the ICBF is advising participants to complete any outstanding record keeping, including completion of the 2019 carbon navigator and recording of scheme data. Information can be easily recorded online, but those not in a position to do so will receive a hardcopy form in the coming weeks.
The Irish Farmers Journal have received numerous queries in recent weeks regarding the announcement of a scheme for 2021, while the question of whether farmers can sell four and five star animals on 1 November has also featured strongly.
No further details have been announced yet for the 2021 scheme, but it is expected to have similar requirements as those already in place, with the female requirement increased upwards from 50%.
Current participants will have to opt in for future participation. This could influence a farmer’s decision to sell four and five star animals, but there is nothing stopping animals from being sold from 1 November onwards.
BEEP deadline
There is another important deadline on 1 November for farmers participating in the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme and this is discussed in the beef management notes.
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