It’s expected that the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) will open for applications next week with an anticipated closing date of the end of May. It is a very important scheme in terms of income on suckler farms but also from a climate change point of view.

It is vital to be able to demonstrate the role of genetics in meeting our climate change targets and SCEP will play a role in this. It is also critical that farmers study the terms and conditions of the scheme and see how they apply to their own farm situation.

\ Philip Doyle

Cast your mind back to 2015 – you had many hurlers on the ditch who shot down Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) straight away and were very vocal at meetings around the country as to how BDGP was going to desolate the suckler herd.

Ironically, many of these detractors actually ended up signing up to BDGP for the full duration of the programme while many who listened to the chaos chose to stay out and regretted it after.

The targets are higher in SCEP but for many who were already on a path with BDGP, these new targets could also be met with some tweaking of a system.

Joining the Bord Bia quality assurance programme is also a concern for some, but many who are already in the scheme would say it’s not a big deal and in fact it prepares the farm for a cross-compliance inspection should one occur.

The payment rate of €150/cow for the first 10 cows and €120/cow thereafter is just too big to ignore and anybody who plans to continue in suckling will need this support to justify keeping suckler cows as opposed to another enterprise on the farm.

/ Donal O' Leary

The Department of Agriculture is currently putting together a list of dates for information meetings on SCEP and I would urge any farmer considering joining the scheme to go along to these meetings and study the programme details and how they will apply to your own farm.

Nobody else’s opinion matters.