The €40m Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme - Suckler (BEEP-S) is now open for applications, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.

BEEP-S payments will be on beef breed animals born in the herd between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021.

The scheme is open to all beef farmers who commit to weighing unweaned calves and their damn and submitting the subsequent data to the ICBF.

The scheme offers €50 per cow and calf pair weighed for the first 10 pairs and €40 per pair thereafter, up to a maximum of 100 pairs.

Optional additional measures include €30 per calf to be given for meal feeding or vaccination and €10 per calf for faecal sampling.

Minister McConalogue said: “The 2021 BEEP–S builds on the success of the scheme in 2020 in which to date €40.46 million has been paid out to 24,430 participants.”

Applications are to be made online only via www.agfood.ie.

Optional measures

Meal feeding is for a period of four weeks pre-weaning and two weeks post-weaning to reduce stress.

Calves must be supplemented with compound feed stuffs containing the appropriate minerals and vitamins.

The vaccination programme can be implemented for respiratory diseases in suckler calves, with record keeping of vaccinations required.

Faecal egg testing is targeted at the control of liver and rumen fluke in adult suckler cows.

Samples must be taken and submitted to approved laboratories.

Important support

IFA livestock chairman Brendan Golden branded the opening of BEEP-S as an important support for suckler farmers.

“Last year, over 24,000 farmers applied for the scheme. Suckler farmers are the backbone of our beef industry and IFA continues to look for strong supports for them.”

The IFA reminded farmers that the closing date is Monday, 26 April.