Thomas Lyons 
Nearly 10,000 suckler farmers have applied for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) as the deadline for applications is fast approaching. As of Friday, May 5, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has received a total of 9,864 applications for the suckler scheme. The deadline for applications to SCEP is midnight on Monday, May 22, 2023. The SCEP is the successor to the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and has a budget of €260 million over five years. The scheme is co-funded by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.
The SCEP aims to reduce bovine emissions through enhanced use of genetics, genomics, and performance metrics. It will operate as a five-year contract and targets bovine emissions through enhanced use of genetics, genomics, and performance metrics. Under the SCEP, participating farmers will receive €150/cow on the first 22 cows and €120/cow on subsequent cows. A 20-cow suckler herd will be eligible for a payment of €3,000 under the scheme. The SCEP is designed to incentivize farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, while also supporting the sustainability of the Irish beef industry.
As of Friday, May 5, the highest number of SCEP applications has been received from the following five counties: Galway: 1,148; Mayo: 1,090; Clare: 944; Cork: 641; Roscommon: 558. Farmers can only submit applications for SCEP using the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s online AgFood facility. Applications must be submitted either by the applicant themselves or by an approved Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisor authorized to act on their behalf. Applicants who are not already registered for the department’s online services will need to register first.
Details on an additional suckler scheme, to complement SCEP are also expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The additional scheme will replace the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme – Sucklers (BEEP-S). Previously, BEEP-S paid suckler farmers for weighing suckler cows and calves, however this measure has now been incorporated into the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) which opened for applications on March 20. The new scheme to replace BEEP-S will have a different title and Agriland understands approximately €30 million has been set aside in Budget 2023 for the BEEP-S replacement scheme.
There are no final details available as of yet on how the replacement for the BEEP-S will look, but it is expected the new scheme will include similar measures to BEEP-S minus the weighing element. In 2022, BEEP-S had a funding provision of €40 million and targeted the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves by measuring the liveweight of the calf at weaning as a percentage of the cow’s liveweight. Applicants to the scheme could also select from a number of optional health and welfare measures, including meal feeding or vaccination of weanlings and/or faecal egg testing of suckler cows.
The SCEP scheme has been designed to help farmers reduce their carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of the Irish beef industry. The scheme is co-funded by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. The SCEP is the successor to the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and has a budget of €260 million over five years. The scheme will operate as a five-year contract and targets bovine emissions through enhanced use of genetics, genomics, and performance metrics.
The SCEP has received nearly 10,000 applications from suckler farmers across the country. The highest number of applications has been received from Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, and Roscommon. Farmers can only apply for SCEP using the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s online AgFood facility. An additional scheme to complement SCEP is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The new scheme will replace the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme – Sucklers (BEEP-S) and will have a different title.
