Payments totalling just over €28m under the Beef Welfare Scheme are on the way to farmers’ bank accounts.

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon announced the commencement of the payments on Tuesday 2 December to 24,214 participating farmers, supporting 450,895 calves.

The per-calf payment for the scheme was cut to €67/calf from the anticipated €75/calf in 2025, as the scheme was oversubscribed.

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This means farmers with the maximum of 45 calves in the scheme received a payment that was €360 lower than expected.

Announcing the payments, Minister Heydon said they will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.

“The issuing of payments under the Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 is crucial to the beef sector and farm families.

Processing

“The processing of such payments at the earliest possible opportunity remains a key priority for my Department and is in line with the commitments that my Department has entered into under the Charter of Rights for Farmers,” Minister Heydon said.

The Minister reminded farmers that if they have received a request to submit meal feeding, vaccination or testing documentation, they should return them as soon as possible.

“I have secured a further €28m for a continuation of this scheme or a similar scheme in 2026 and discussions have already taken place with the farming organisations on it,” he added.

About

The Department said the objective of the Beef Welfare Scheme 2025 is to further increase the economic efficiency of, and enhance animal health and husbandry on, suckler farms.

It supports farmers in meal feeding suckler calves before and after weaning, in vaccinating against clostridial diseases and/or calf pneumonia and carrying out testing measures, either forage analysis or the faecal egg count.

Meal feeding, which is a mandatory action under the scheme, will be paid at a rate of €35 per eligible calf and vaccination (optional action), paid at a rate of €12 per eligible calf and the testing action (optional action) paid at a rate of €20 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 calves across each action.

Farmers who select and complete all scheme actions will be paid €67/calf subject to a maximum overall payment of €3,015 (45 calves), which is an increase of €1,015 on the 2024 scheme, as there was one less action in last year's scheme.