The 2026 National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS) was opened this week by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon.

The scheme, which aims to support farmers rearing progeny from dairy herds, is similar in format to 2025 with a payment of €20 per calf up to a maximum of 50 head.

It should be noted that the budget for the scheme, with €4m in national exchequer funding, is unchanged from 2025 when the scheme was oversubscribed to the tune of 100,000 calves or about €1.4m in funding.

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This resulted in the maximum number payable in the scheme reduced to a maximum of 31 head, as opposed to 50 head, with €4.09m paid to 8,153 participants. Therefore, the number of calves eligible for payment in 2026 could be reduced if a similar situation occurs and additional funding is not allocated to the scheme.

Applications 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.

Qualifying criteria

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 to the Irish Cattle Breeding federation (ICBF).

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

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

Dairy-beef production

In 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.

“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.

I am committing €10.25m this year to support farmers breeding and rearing dairy calves intended for beef production

“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”.