Press release
Minister McConalogue announces extension of BDGP contracts for 2022
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today gave further details about how farmers who are participants in the 2021 Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) transitional scheme can continue their participation in BDGP for 2022.
Referring to his statement following Budget 2022 about the maintenance of crucial farm schemes, the Minister said
“I am committed to supporting the suckler sector as it is critical to the overall success of our agri-food industry. I was delighted to be able to secure funding in Budget 2022, to ensure we could continue crucial farm schemes such as the BDGP.”
"My Department has issued letters to farmers who are participants in the 2021 transitional BDGP scheme, informing them of the option to further extend contracts for a rollover of one further year into 2022. The application process commenced on 18th November and stays open up to 5pm on 20th December 2021.
"My Department has endeavoured to make the process to extend participation as straightforward as possible, with two options available for submission of applications.
• The application to extend may be submitted by logging on to agfood.ie which went live on Thursday 18th November 2021. The application may be submitted by the participant themselves or by an agent authorised to act on his/her behalf up to 5pm on 20th December 2021.
OR
• By text message – if an existing 2021 BDGP participant or an agent operating on his/her behalf does not apply on agfood.ie before Wednesday 8th December 2021, the participant if they are signed up to receive text messages from my Department will receive a text message on Friday 10th December 2021, asking them if they wish to extend their BDGP participation by one year.
The options to reply are either ‘DAFM Y’ (for Yes I want to extend my BDGP contract into 2022) or ‘DAFM N’ (for No I do not want to extend my BDGP contract into 2022). The participant or agent operating on his/her behalf will have seventy-two (72) hours from the time the SMS is sent during which they must reply. A confirmation text will issue in reply if the Department has successfully received a response.
Please note that by replying ‘DAFM Y’, participants are accepting the updated Terms and Conditions (‘T&Cs’) of the scheme, a full copy of which are accessible on the Department’s Website. A further text will issue Tuesday 14th December 2021 to those who have yet to reply followed by a further text on Friday 17th December 2021. The deadline for submission of all applications is 5pm on Monday 20th December 2021.
For any queries in relation to submission of applications, please contact 0761 064423 or beefschemes@agriculture.gov.ie”
The Minister concluded by urging all 2021 BDGP participants to ensure they apply either online through agfood or reply via the SMS message where they are signed up to receive text messages from the Department.
“2022 is the final year of the BDGP before the commencement of the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Scheme in 2023, as part of the next CAP. This scheme will see participants receive €150 on the first 10 cows and €120 on remaining cows.”