IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden has called for full payments to made on all cows applied for in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

The Department of Agriculture confirmed on Tuesday that a flurry of applications before Monday's deadline left the total number of farmers applying to the suckler scheme at 20,000.

Golden said that this number accounts for almost 500,000 cows, underlining farmers' commitment to sucklers and their need for direct supports.

"Our entire beef sector and the associated jobs are built on the reputation and production systems on suckler farms and these practices are the key selling point used for Irish beef throughout the world," he stated.

The livestock chair said that that making full payments on all cows for the farmers who applied to SCEP could act as the starting point to rebuilding the suckler herd after years of declining numbers.

Extra €90/cow

The commitment in Budget 2023 from Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to bring forward a €90/cow scheme must also be honoured, Golden commented.

The scheme must be implementable with low compliance costs for farmers, he maintains.

“The Minister must now honour that and ensure the new scheme to be announced in the coming weeks provides an additional €90/cow for all cows farmers apply on.”

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Over 20,000 suckler farmers apply to SCEP