Elements of suckler scheme to be retained

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has indicated that at least some aspects of the suckler welfare scheme will be retained — even though the five-year scheme has run its course.

“We need to weigh up how we can hold on to what has been really important for the scheme,” Mr Coveney told an Oireachtas joint committee debate on the Agriculture, Food and the Marine Dept’s expenditure ceiling.

“There are strategic aspects of the suckler cow welfare scheme which have been beneficial for Irish agriculture, yet were not anticipated at the start, such as data collection on breeding, how animals respond to feed conversion efficiency and age.