Payment in new suckler scheme 'far too low'
Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) livestock chairman Brendan Golden said that the National Beef Welfare Scheme is a "support for service providers, not farmers".
The new suckler scheme announced this week has received strong criticism from farmers over the payment rate, and the inclusion of Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) testing.
Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) livestock chairman Brendan Golden said that the National Beef Welfare Scheme is a "support for service providers, not farmers".
The scheme is a support measure designed to enhance animal health and husbandry on suckler farms.
It will support farmers in meal-feeding suckler calves in advance of and after weaning, and in testing for the presence of IBR in their herds.
"This is such a poorly designed scheme," according to Mr Golden.Â
"The payment per farmer is far too low and on too few cows.Â
"Most of it will leak to vets, laboratories, and others. The inclusion of IBR testing is a huge error of judgment by the minister."
The scheme "fails miserably" to deliver on the minister's commitment to provide suckler farmers with a replacement scheme for BEEP-S with "similar ambition and practical measures", the IFA said.
"A suckler farmer in BEEP-S with 25 cows received €84/cow. This scheme will only return €47/cow to that farmer while also requiring additional actions that are cost prohibitive and add nothing to the income of the farm," the IFA said.
Mr Golden said that the scheme "must be redesigned; practical measures included; payment rates increased; and ceilings brought in line with the BEEP-S it is replacing".
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association suckler chairman Jimmy Cosgrave has said that the new suckler scheme is "sorely lacking in ambition and does not inspire confidence that the Government really wants to keep current suckler numbers in place".
"The scheme does have some positive elements but overall, it will not deliver in terms of farm income on suckler farms,” Mr Cosgrave said.
"ICSA welcomes the meal feeding measure and we lobbied for that. Most suckler farmers who sell weanlings feed meal to them so that they are in good order at sales.
"The maximum number of 40 head is a completely needless limit that is unfair to commercial suckler farmers who are trying to stay in it for the long-term."
Mr Cosgrave said that he was also concerned about the lack of certainty regarding a scheme for 2024 and subsequent years.
"Farmers are in the dark about the long-term plans for the sector and this is having a serious impact, not only on planning for the future, but on mental health," he said.
The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association has expressed its "major disappointment" with the new scheme.
Vice-president Micheal McDonnell called on the minister and his officials to review the scheme, stating that "there needs to be an increase in the overall payment rate and a full review around the IBR testing requirement".
"This scheme was eagerly anticipated by suckler farmers, especially those that didn’t join SCEP," Mr O’Donnell said.
"While it is positive that there are no impediments to joining as there is with the Bord Bia requirement under SCEP, the reality is that for the vast majority of suckler farmers, there is no great incentive to join."
