01 December 2023

Dairy-beef weighing scheme payments to commence next week

Payments under the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme, which offers herd owners grant aid to weigh up to 50 calves at a payment rate of €20 per head, will commence on December 4, the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue told a full house at the Teagasc National Dairy Conference.

The Minister also briefly touched on a new addition to the scheme for March 2024, which will support the use of high Dairy Beef Index sires on dairy herds. This addition is aimed at improving the beef traits of calves, and to facilitate the retention of calves in Ireland to allow for more integration of dairy and beef systems.

Also read: Grant aid of up to €1,000 for dairy-beef weighing scheme

Commenting from the event on the importance of calf welfare, the Minister said: “There is a real risk on how we manage the dairy male calves from the dairy herd. There is a lot of focus on this topic, so we need to be sure we are getting the solutions right. Calf welfare standards need to be an absolute priority and that is something that we all are working to ensure.

“There are a number of areas where significant progress has been made in relation to the beef progeny coming off the dairy herd – particularly around the use of sexed semen. Also, the Dairy Beef Index has potential to increase the beef merit of calves from the dairy herd as well as the Commercial Beef Value, which will help communication between beef and dairy farmers.”

The Minister noted that research work ongoing in the Teagasc research centres of Moorepark and Grange are important as “animal and calf welfare standards are central and crucial” to the dairy industry.

Scheme payment dates

The Minister also confirmed that payment dates for the schemes encompassed under the Common Agricultural Policy will revert to the payment dates witnessed in 2022, adding: “I have committed that payment dates in 2024 will revert to traditional dates, with the advanced ANC being made at the same time as the ploughing championships next year and also BISS and CRISS commencing in the middle of October, with EcoScheme payments following on towards the end of October next year.”

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