Dairy-beef weighing measure worth €4m announced
Applications for the 2026 beef-dairy scheme must be submitted online via the MyAgFood portal before midnight on May 15.
The 2026 National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme, worth €4m, is now open for applicants.
Agriculture minister Martin Heydon said: “Similar to its predecessors, this scheme is intended to offer diversification opportunities for dairy and beef farmers, enabling them to benefit from the growing importance of dairy-beef production.
"Calf-to-beef systems are specialised operations. This weighing action helps farmers with decision-making regarding their stock, while also providing more accurate data on herd performance at the national level.”
The scheme remains unchanged from the 2025 iteration, as designed to support farmers rearing progeny from the dairy herd. Participants in the scheme will be required to weigh eligible calves and submit the weight data to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation.
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Eligible calves can be male calves from a dairy breed or male and female calves of beef breed sire born to a dairy breed dam in a participant’s herd.
Applications for the 2026 beef-dairy scheme must be submitted online via the MyAgFood portal before midnight on May 15. Late applications will be accepted, but will be subjected to payment deductions until midnight on June 9.
To qualify for payment, liveweight data must be submitted for at least five eligible calves in a herd with up to 50 calves. Farmers can weigh and upload data on an unlimited number of eligible calves in a herd, but 50 is the maximum number on which they will be paid under the scheme.
All calves must be at least 12 weeks old and registered on the holding for at least 10 days at the time of weighing.
Weight data should be submitted within seven days of weighing, but no later than 5.30pm on November 1. Farmers will only be paid on the number of eligible calves in respect of which they submit liveweight data by the closing date.
Mr Heydon said: “This scheme targets farmers rearing dairy beef progeny from the dairy herd, whether they are dairy farmers rearing their own calves or non-dairy farmers rearing dairy beef calves.
"Between this scheme and the CAP Strategic Plan dairy beef breeding measure, I am committing €10.25m this year to support farmers breeding and rearing dairy calves intended for beef production.”
The minister said a successful dairy-beef sector would improve the resilience of the sector, with additional benefits for calf health and welfare. The funding is consistent with the dairy-beef sector plan published by the department in 2024.
The full terms and conditions of the scheme and other relevant information are available on the department’s website.
