Farmers in Northern Ireland have been urged to opt into the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme, which is part of the Beef Sustainability Package, by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).
Latest figures suggest a third of beef farm businesses in Northern Ireland who are eligible for the scheme have not opted in yet.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) the scheme aims to help “ensure the future viability of the beef sector”.
It includes two measures; a Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) Scheme and a Suckler Cow Scheme which together “seek to improve productivity and reduce emissions from older non-breeding animals”.
The BCR Scheme is now open and the Suckler Cow scheme will open in 2025.
The UFU has highlighted that BCR works on scheme years – with one payment per scheme year. Each scheme year will run from January 1, to December 31.
Payment rate is £75 per animal and the 2024 year is 30 months and under. The maximum number of eligible animals that can receive a payment under BCR is capped at 352,000 per year in Northern Ireland.
BCR payments are made directly to the farm business that the relevant eligible animal is linked to.
The deadline to opt into the BCR scheme is December 31 and farmers only need to opt in once from 2024.
UFU
Separately the UFU and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) have called for a pause on all livestock imports “to protect the island of Ireland from bluetongue (BTV-3)”.
Both farming organisations have warned that infection rates are rising rapidly in Britain and across Europe and that this is “a critical time for vector activity that spreads the disease”.
UFU president, William Irvine, said: “Both the north and south of Ireland have managed to remain free from bluetongue to date, but the threat it now poses for our beef and sheep farms is huge.
“The disease is causing havoc in Britain, with 46 cases confirmed in England since the end of August. Europe is also under increasing pressure with cases soaring.
“There have been 700 cases in Northern France alone”.
Meanwhile IFA president, Francie Gorman, has also highlighted to government the importance of taking all “necessary precautions to reduce the risk of the disease entering the country”.
He added: “The introduction of BTV-3 onto the island of Ireland would cause serious disruption to live trade for cattle and sheep, and would immediately stop the live sale and export of animals from within the restriction zone that would be established.”
Gorman has also urged farmers to act “responsibly to protect our animals and the island of Ireland from the introduction of this disease”.
