The Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme will continue as it currently stands into 2023 with a budget of another €5m, Department of Agriculture official David Buckley told the Cork CAP event.

The scheme pays farmers rearing progeny from the dairy herd with a payment of €20 for every calf weighed up to a maximum of 40 animals and for the submission of weights to the ICBF.

This current scheme will remain applicable to all calves born before 30 June 2023.

However, the adapted scheme, announced as part of Budget 2023, will apply to all calves born from 1 July 2023.

Payment

It will see the €20 payment move from the farmer rearing the calf to the dairy farmer who bred it. “The change then will happen in 2024 for the dairy beef index.

We in the Department, our [CAP] plan that went in, we wanted there to be a weighing measure for all years, but the bottom line is the [European] Commission didn’t agree with us,” Buckley said.

Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme a 'step in the wrong direction'

Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme to continue into 2023

Department official David Buckley confirmed that the current Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme will apply for all calves born before 30 June 2023.