Aligning your dates: Meal feeding under the National Beef Welfare Scheme

A practical guide for suckler farmers participating in the National Beef Welfare Scheme 2026 has been prepared by Teagasc Beef Specialist and Manager of the Future Beef Programme, Martina Harrington, focusing on the importance of starting your meal feeding programme on time.

Speaking on the importance of the meal feeding action, a mandatory element of the scheme paying €35 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 calves, Martina Harrington explained: “The most important thing to work back from is your planned sale date.

“If you are selling weanlings, you should work back at least 43 days from the planned sale date and farmers need to be aware the earliest sale date is 15 days after weaning.

“The factsheet includes a meal feeding and sale date reckoner and is a useful tool for farmers to work back from their planned sale date to identify when meal feeding and weaning should begin,” Martina Harrington added.

Also discussed through the ‘2026 National Beef Welfare Scheme Meal Feeding’ factsheet is the recommended meal feeding rates, with Martina Harrington explaining: “The recommended meal feeding rate prior to weaning is 1kg of meal for four weeks. This increases to 2kg per calf per day for the two weeks after weaning. All-in-all, this means farmers should allow for approximately 56kg of meal per calve over the six-week period.”

As 5% of applications participating in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Scheme will be subject to administrative checks, receipts and invoices, feed labels, delivery dockets, weaning dates and feeding and other action records should be retained.

The factsheet also includes information on the ration specification required, along with guidance for those home mixing straights. Practical tips for farmers availing of optional actions, including the vaccination element or the faecal/forage testing option are also available through the factsheet.

Farmers are reminded that the application deadline for the National Beef Welfare Scheme 2026 is 5pm on Wednesday, September 23,2026.

To view the factsheet ‘2026 National Beef Welfare Scheme Meal Feeding’, visit here.

For more from the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, visit here.