From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced the launch of the Equine Technical and Equine Breeding Scheme 2024 and the opening for receipt of applications. The aim of the scheme is to facilitate and support the Irish equine sector to operate and develop at the highest international standards of breeding, training and research.
The Minister said:
“I am pleased to announce the launch of the Equine Technical and Equine Breeding Scheme 2024 which is worth €854,000 to the equine sector. The funding is provided to support various equine industry projects. I am committed to the continued support of the equine sector, particularly, in the areas of studbooks and breeding, education and research.”
The scheme is comprised of three programme headings:
The Minister added:
“A number of very valuable projects have been funded over the last number of years. For example, in 2023, funding was used by breed societies to provide parentage testing on all animals entering their respective breeding book using the technology of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). This transition provides opportunities for Irish breeders to become world leaders in equine genetics such as improved accuracy of pedigree, preservation of rare lines, monitoring health related genes and potential abnormalities, predicting coat colour and, in time, research on other breeding and performance related traits. Other valuable projects included knowledge transfer for our young breeders who will be the breeders for tomorrow, marketing and promotion of our studbooks and research in equine diseases. I look forward to seeing the proposals for 2024 and I hope there are many new and innovative project applications which will assist and contribute to the sustainable development of the sector."
Applicants must comply with the specific terms and conditions of each programme and projects must be completed and reported on in late 2024. The closing date for submission for applications is 5pm on Friday 22 December 2023.
For further details on the scheme, including a copy of the terms and conditions of each programme are available on the department’s website at: Animal Breeding.
For any further information on the scheme, contact the Livestock Breeding, Production and Trade Division, Cavan: