There have been a number of requests over the last week seeking information as to how farmers participating in the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) can apply to defer their 12 month reduction period.

The request must be completed through the Department’s agfood.ie facility and it is a relatively straightforward process once you know the steps to follow. A step-by-step guide is detailed below.

  • Select the ‘Exceptional Aid Measures’ heading on the agfood.ie home screen.
  • On the next screen, click on ‘select scheme to enter’ on the top left.
  • This will then give you two options to select – the Beef Finisher Payment or BEAM.
  • On the next BEAM window, click on the small circle on the left under the heading ‘select application type’. This is the step that is catching out many applicants.
  • This will then bring you through to the window where you can select the option ‘Defer 5% Nitrates Reduction’. Once an application has been submitted, it will state this on the screen.
  • The window available for opting to defer the reduction period is open until Monday 21 June 2021.

    Meeting targets

    As discussed in this paper a few weeks ago, the facility which allows farmers to change the original reduction period of 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 to the new reduction period of 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021, gives more scope to those who have little chance of meeting the original timeframe targets and can also act as an insurance policy for those committed to hitting the original target.

    This is because farmers can apply for the new reduction period and if they meet the 5% reduction target during the original window of 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, they will then be able to withdraw their request to change it, allowing them to satisfy scheme conditions and farm as normal from 1 July 2021.

    They will, however, have no fall back option if they fail to select the deferral option and then miss the original target.