SBLAS membership deadline of October 16th is fast approaching

Farmers are reminded that to qualify for the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme, they must become a fully certified member of SBLAS – Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme – before the forthcoming date of October 16^th, 2023.

If a farmer fails to become a full member of SBLAS before the above date, and/or fails to maintain membership throughout the duration of their five-year SCEP contract, they will be removed from the programme and the DAFM will clawback all SCEP monies received from previous years.

That’s Farming understands that in the region of circa 3,000 farmers who applied for SCEP have yet to apply for participation in the SBLAS.

This is one of a number of conditions contained in the suckler scheme, which replaces the BDGP – Beef Data and Genomics Programme – and is separate from the National Beef Welfare Scheme.

Other eligibility criteria includes:

• An applicant must be 18 years or over on the date of submission of application for participation;
• Be a holder of an active herd number with herd owner (not herd keeper) status;
• Be farming a holding in respect of which a valid BISS application is submitted to the DAFM on a yearly basis and on which all land parcels are declared;
• At least 50% of the yearly reference number calved on the holding must be eligible calves between scheme year: July 1^st, 2022, and June 30^th, 2023, and every scheme year thereafter. Participants must calf down at least 50% of their yearly reference number annually;
• Must attend the SCEP training course and an animal handling course by November 15^th, 2024.

As part of a mini-series on SCEP, we reviewed in detail, the five main actions that participants must carry out as part of the scheme – You can read this series via this link.

National Beef Welfare Scheme

As stated above, the other measure for suckler farmers, the National Beef Welfare Scheme, has an extended application window until September 26^th, 2023, which replaces the initial September 12^th date.

The scheme will support farmers in meal-feeding suckler calves in advance of and after weaning, and in testing for the presence of Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) in their herds.

Read more on this news article on www.thatsfarming.com

Other farming news articles on That’s Farming:

• New €150/suckler cow scheme opens
• SCEP: €3,000/year payment for 20-cow suckler farmer
• Suckler scheme: ‘Scope’ to reduce numbers without penalty each year