Year four of the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) has no surprises for farmers, with higher breeding targets not kicking into place until year five.

This does not mean, however, that farmers can afford to rest on their laurels, with a number of core elements and action requirements which must be satisfied.

It is critical to highlight that to remain in SCEP applicants must calve at least 50% beef-breed animals of the yearly reference number.

ADVERTISEMENT

The SCEP year runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, so this needs to be taken into account when assessing if this target has been met.

Farmers must also remain a participant of the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme for the duration of their contract.

The five action areas, including the requirements of each and penalties for non-compliance are below. Each action is worth 20% of the overall payment.

Action one – eligible sires

  • In year four of the programme, 85% of the calves born (up to the reference number) must be sired by a sire rated as four- or five-star on either the replacement or terminal index. In the event that an applicant calves more than the 50% requirement, these animals must also be sired from a four- or five-star sire to a minimum of at least 85% of their yearly reference number. This increases to 90% in year five, so keep this in mind when selecting sires.
  • Where less than 85% of calves are sired by a four- of five-star sire in year three, there will be no payment on that action plus an additional 40% penalty.

    • Action two – replacement target

  • There is no female replacement target for year four, but it is worth keeping an eye on the year five target to have at least 75% of a participant’s yearly reference number classified as eligible females by 31 October 2027.
  • An eligible female must be at least 16 months of age on the date in question and genotyped possessing four- or five-stars on the replacement index (on a within or across breed basis) at the time of purchase (for replacements brought into the herd), or at the time of genotyping (for those replacements bred within the herd).
  • There is no penalty strategy in year four for this action.

    • Action three – genotyping

  • The number of animals to be genotyped each year will be at least equivalent to 70% of the yearly reference number, rounded down to the nearest animal.
  • Genomic samples must be submitted in year four by 30 November 2026.
  • Remember the scheme year of 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 when calculating if you have enough animals to genotype.
  • Where less than 90% of the required number of samples are submitted, then there will be no payment on the action, plus a 40% penalty

    • Action four – weighing

  • Participants must weigh at least 80% of eligible animals born on the holding of the yearly reference number, along with weighing their dams and submit weights to ICBF.
  • Eligible calves must be born within the herd and at least 50 days of age at weighing. Weights must be recorded on the ICBF database by 5.30pm on 1 November 2026.
  • Where less than 80% of pairs are weighed then there is no payment for that action for the year of breach, plus an additional 10% penalty for that year.

    • Action five – surveys and record-keeping

  • The 20% payment for action five is split into 10% for record-keeping and another 10% for event-recording.
  • Delaying recording beyond the middle-to-end of November will mean that payment on that action will not take place until a later date.
  • Where between 80% and 100% of the required data is submitted, then a proportionate reduction based on the percentage of data submitted will apply.
  • If less than 80% of the required data is submitted, then a 10% penalty will apply. However, this penalty and any outstanding payment will be reimbursed if the required data is submitted by 15 February 2027.

    • Key recommendations for weighing compliance

    As mentioned already, participants must weigh at least 80% of eligible animals born on the holding of the yearly reference number in each scheme year and their dams, and submit weights to ICBF.

    An example of this requirement is detailed in Table 1.

    Cows and calves must be weighed on the same day. Calves must be a minimum of 50 days of age at weighing, but the optimum timeframe identified for weighing by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is when the majority of calves are aged between 150 and 250 days (five to eight months).

    Table 2 details the optimum timeframe based on a range in calf birth dates. Where there is a split calving pattern in place, then weighing should ideally be split to facilitate weighing at this timeframe.

    The following are key points to remember:

  • Each live calf must be born in the herd, un-weaned and weighed with its dam on the applicant’s holding on the same day.
  • Where a calf dies before five months of age or its dam, this must be recorded on the Animal Movement and Identification system (AIM), with these not contributing to the 80% target figure.
  • All calves being submitted for weighing must be eligible for the scheme.
  • The calf must be a minimum of 50 days old before it is eligible to be weighed.
  • Weights should be submitted to ICBF within seven days of weighing and no later than 1 November annually.
  • Only registered scales used in accordance with the requirements may be used for the purpose of this programme.
  • If you are recording weights online/electronically, the weights must be recorded in the ICBF database by 5:30pm on 1 November annually.
  • If you are submitting weights by post, the forms must be sent so that they are received by ICBF by 5:30pm on 1 November annually.