New headage payment helps make dairy beef a beefier prospect

Farmers who rear or purchase calves born from dairy cows for beef production would be eligible, if they submit a BISS application and are members of the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme

Rearing calves born from dairy cows for beef production can be profitable for efficient farmers, and they will be helped from 2023 onwards by a €20 per head payment proposed in the CAP Strategic Plan. Picture: Pamela D McAdams/iStock/Getty Images

Rearing calves born from dairy cows for beef production can be profitable for efficient farmers, and they will be helped from 2023 onwards by a €20 per head payment proposed in the CAP Strategic Plan.

The payment will be for weighing dairy beef animals once during their first year, proposed as a practice to improve the welfare of these male dairy calves.