Have you applied for the 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme? With payment rates of up to €75/calf available, time is running out if you wish to apply.
Farmers wishing to apply for the 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme are reminded that the closing date for applications is September 24, 2025, at 11:59pm. Farmers interested in participating in this year’s scheme are urged to submit their applications before the cutoff date to ensure eligibility.
The scheme, which supports suckler beef farmers with payments linked to calf welfare actions, requires participants to meet certain criteria and complete at least one mandatory action, with the option to select additional measures to enhance calf health and welfare.
With a maximum of 45 calves eligible for payment, farmers must apply online via the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s platform Agfood.ie before the deadline. Payments for successful applications are scheduled to begin in December 2025.
What’s involved in the Beef Welfare Scheme?
Farmers are advised to review the scheme’s requirements and terms and conditions carefully to confirm their eligibility and understand the actions involved.
You can apply if you:
- Are aged eighteen years or over on the date of submission of the application for participation
- Are the holder of an active herd number with Herd Owner Status. Herd Keeper is not acceptable
- Are farming a holding in respect of which a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Application is submitted in 2025 to the Department
- Are a suckler beef farmer i.e. have eligible calves born to eligible suckler cows in the period 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025
- Are an “Active Farmer” as defined in the Terms and Conditions
There is one mandatory action that must be completed. You can select optional actions:
- Action 1 – Meal Feeding (Mandatory Action). Participants must introduce meal feeding for a period of 4 weeks pre-weaning and 2 weeks post-weaning to reduce the stress on calves at weaning time.
- Action 2 – Vaccination (Optional Action). If action 2, vaccination, is selected at application stage, participants must implement a vaccination programme against clostridial diseases and/or calf pneumonia in suckler calves and record details of the vaccination.
- Action 3 – Faecal Testing / Forage Testing (Optional Action). If action 3, Faecal Testing/Forage Testing is selected at application stage, participants must: carry out two (2) faecal tests (with a minimum of four (4) weeks between each test) for specified parasites and submit for testing or take three (3) forage samples and submit for testing. All sampling kits must be purchased no later than 13 October 2025.
Participants will be presented with the number of eligible calves born on their holding between 01 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 at application stage. Participants will have the option at application stage to select the number of calves for participation in the scheme.
Rate of payment:
- Action 1 – Meal Feeding (Mandatory): the rate of payment is €35 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 eligible calves.
- Action 2 – Vaccination (Optional): The rate of payment is €15 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 eligible calves.
- Action 3 – Faecal Testing / Forage Testing (Optional): The rate of payment is €25 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 45 eligible calves.
For further insights, Assistant Principal Officer over Beef Schemes with the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, Margaret Brennan joined Catherine Egan on a recent episode of the Beef Edge podcast to tells us all we need to know about the Beef Welfare Scheme. Listen in below: