A major row is brewing over plans to charge suckler farmers up to €20/hd to genotype calves, while dairy farmers will pay only a fraction of that cost, at €4/head to €6/head.

Serious reservations were expressed at IFA national council this week following a presentation on the genotyping plan by Seán Coughlan of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

A number of suckler farmers questioned why, under the current proposals, applicants to the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) will pay far more to genotype their calves than dairy farmers will be charged.

The issue was also expected to feature strongly at Wednesday’s IFA national livestock committee meeting.

An €80m five-year programme to genotype the national herd is currently under consideration.

The plan aims to genotype 800,000 cows and in-calf heifers in 2023, with this element of the programme being financed to the tune of €20m through the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) fund.

The costs for the remaining four years of the programme will be covered equally by the Department of Agriculture, individual farmers and meat and dairy processors.

The programme is expected to kick off in the next two months if funding is secured.