Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed that calves born from cows bred to pedigree stock bulls will be eligible for payment under the new Dairy Beef Welfare scheme, as long as the bulls have a minimum dairy beef index (DBI) rating of three stars.

The Dairy Beef Welfare will have an annual budget of €5m and is intended to enhance the integration between the dairy and beef systems.

Minister McConalogue said this integration can be achieved by increasing the value of dairy beef calves by encouraging the use of high-DBI sires on the dairy herd.

His comments came in response to a question posed by Colm Burke TD on Wednesday.

“The requirement for a minimum rating of three stars on the DBI does not preclude the use of pedigree sires,” the minister said.

“In the case of the beef data and genomics programme (BDGP), the proportion of high-indexed sires used by participants from the pedigree herd under the Eurostar index was 97% at the end of the programme, according to the ICBF.

“This demonstrates that the pedigree bull remains integral to the development of the national herd in the context of improvement of genetic merit.”

Earlier this week, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that the current Dairy Beef Welfare scheme will remain in place until 30 June 2023, when the new CAP’s scheme kicks in.