Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced the opening of the 2026 National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS).

The scheme that aims to support farmers rearing progeny from dairy herds remains unchanged from 2025.

Participants will be required to weigh eligible calves and submit data to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

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Any male calves of a dairy breed or male and female calves of a beef breed sire born to a dairy breed dam will be eligible under the scheme.

To qualify for payment, liveweight data must be submitted for a minimum of five calves and a maximum of 50 in a herd and farmers will only be paid on the number of eligible calves that they have submitted liveweight data for by the closing date, the Department said.

All calves must be at least 12 weeks old and registered on the farm for at least 10 days at the time of weighing.

The Department stated: “Weight data should be submitted within seven days of weighing but no later than 5.30pm on 1 November 2026.”

'Growing importance of dairy-beef production'

Announcing the opening of the scheme, Minister Heydon said: “Similar to its predecessors, this scheme is intended to offer diversification opportunities for dairy and beef farmers, enabling them to benefit from the growing importance of dairy-beef production.

“Calf-to-beef systems are specialised operations. This weighing action helps farmers with decision-making regarding their stock, while also providing more accurate data on herd performance at national level.

“This scheme targets farmers rearing dairy-beef progeny from the dairy herd, whether they are dairy farmers rearing their own calves or non-dairy farmers rearing dairy-beef calves.

“Between this scheme and the CAP Strategic Plan dairy-beef breeding measure, I am committing €10.25m this year to support farmers breeding and rearing dairy calves intended for beef production. A successful dairy-beef strategy will improve the resilience of the sector, with additional benefits for calf health and welfare.

“This funding is consistent with the overall plan for growing the dairy-beef sector published by my Department in 2024, while continuing to maintain support for suckler farming as the cornerstone of Irish beef output,” he stated.

Applications for the 2026 NDBWS must be lodged online before midnight on Friday 15 May 2026 using the MyAgFood portal.

The Department said that late applications will be accepted, subject to payment deductions, until midnight on Tuesday 9 June 2026.

More information on the scheme is available here.