Payments under the 2019 Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) resumed last Friday.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed announced payments to the value of €13,239,560 had been issued to 13,290 farmers. This follows €2,066,720 paid to 3,134 farmers on 22 October, bringing the total to €15,306,280 paid to 16,424 farmers participating in the pilot programme.

There was just over a five-week time lag between the first and second payment runs. The pilot programme was extended after the first payment run, with the time frame for weighing extended from 1 November to 8 November while the period for submitting weights to the ICBF also extended by a week to 15 November.

Minister Creed said: “The data provided under this important initiative will help to improve the environmental and economic performance of our suckler herds.”

Herd participation

The pilot was launched in January 2019 with a fund of €20m made available by the Department of Agriculture. The target was to capture on-farm weights of in the region of 500,000 cows and their calves, with a payment rate of €40 per eligible cow-calf weight recorded.

The number of cows fell short of the target, with 18,745 herds applying for the scheme covering 414,698 cows. Going on the payment rate listed above, payment has been made on 382,657 cows, meaning weights have failed to be recorded on 32,041 cows. A small portion of these may yet receive payment if outstanding information is supplied.

The average herd size was 22 cows, with Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford possessing the highest average herd size of 33 cows while Leitrim had the smallest average herd size of 14 cows.

BDGP and BEAM

In announcing BEEP payments, Minister Creed added that payments under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) are set to commence, with BEAM payments expected in the coming week.

The Minister said: “Payments under BDGP and BEAM will also commence in the coming weeks representing a total of €120m in support for our beef sector in 2019.

“I am very aware of how important this support is, not just for beef farmers and their families, but for the communities in which they live and the wider rural economy.”

BEAM has a fund of €100m available but this will not all be drawn down, with the scheme estimated to be undersubscribed to the tune of €22m. Approval letters were issued to 34,517 farmers applying, 533 of which later withdrew from the scheme.

The main reason raised by farmers for not participating is the requirement to reduce bovine nitrogen production by 5% for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 compared to levels produced from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. Increasing the area farmed or exporting slurry is not permitted as a means of meeting the 5% reduction requirement.

Eligible suckler animals are beef breed females with progeny born in the 2018 calendar year and sired by a beef breed bull with the maximum payment capped at 40 cows or €1,600. The average payment applied for by suckler farmers is €40 per head payment on 14 suckler cows which gives an average payment of €560.

Eligible finished animals are bovines aged over 12 months of age and presented to a slaughtering plant in the period 24 September 2018 to 12 May 2019 (inclusive) with payment capped at €100/head or €10,000 on a maximum of 100 animals. The average number applied for by finishers is 20 cattle giving an average payment of €2,000 per applicant.

The BDGP payment in 2018 totalled €43.3m paid to 23,712 farmers across BDGP I and II.