It has been estimated that 2,200 farmers have yet to register for Northern Ireland’s Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme (BCRS).
The matter was discussed at a recent beef webinar hosted jointly by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and The College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).
The closing date for the 2024 scheme is December 31. Farmers can register on line, courtesy of an ‘opt-in’ process.
This is a one-off process, ensuring that registered farmers will remain compliant for the years during which the scheme will operate.
However, farmers who do not register during 2024 cannot apply retrospectively for the £75 headage payments available ion eligible animals.
CAFRE is also confirming that farmers with no access to the internet can call-in at their local department of agriculture office, where they will get the advice they need to complete the registration process.
Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme
BCRS applications can only be submitted online.
The scheme has been specifically drawn to reduce the age at which prime cattle in Northern Ireland are slaughtered.
For 2024, the maximum eligible age is 30 months, however, this figure drops to 28 months on January 1 next.
CAFRE advisors recognise that beef farmers need to make decisions now in terms of maximising the eligibility of finished cattle for BCRS over the coming months.
BCRS has been developed as a means of reducing livestock greenhouse gas emissions and improving efficiency within Northern Ireland’s beef sector. It was introduced on January 01 this year.
It is part a new programme of Farm Support and Development that is being developed to replace current support schemes.
The measure has been designed to improve the efficiency of the beef sector and reduce livestock greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to meeting the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 targets.
It will support a reduction in the maximum age at slaughter of clean finished beef animals over a four-year implementation period.
Farmers slaughtering clean finished beef animals at or below the target age for the year of the Scheme will receive a payment for each eligible animal slaughtered.
Information to identify the slaughter age of eligible cattle will be drawn by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) from information held on the NIFAIS traceability system.
The payment will be made to the producer who held the animals for at least 60 days during the final 100 days of its life before slaughter.
Animals moved out of Northern Ireland for immediate slaughter elsewhere will also be eligible for this payment.
By year four, the target slaughter age will be 26 months.
