From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today confirmed that payments under the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme (NDBWS) have commenced. In total, over €5 million has commenced issuing to some 8,000 participating farmers.
The Minister commented:
“I am delighted to confirm that payments have now commenced under the National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme, building on the range of support schemes available for beef farmers.
"The scheme helps to support decision making on farms through better quality data on herd performance and to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of the beef from the dairy herd, and to facilitate further the integration of the dairy and beef sectors by providing support for farmers who are rearing progeny from the dairy herd.”
The core action for the scheme was the weighing of eligible calves before 1 November 2023 for which there was a payment of €20 per calf up to a maximum of 50 calves (increased from 40 calves in the 2022 Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme).
The Minister concluded by stating:
“I am acutely aware of the importance of payments under these schemes for the beef sector and the processing of such payments at the earliest possible opportunity remains a key priority for my department.”
It is important to note that payments may take up to 5 days to reach farmers' accounts.