Payments under the 2020 Beef Data and Genomics Programme have commenced.
The announcement was made by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., today (Monday, December 14th).
The Minister said: “Payments have started issuing and will continue over the coming days and into next week. It is expected that approximately €37 million will be paid out to over 21,000 farmers.”
“I am delighted that payments have commenced for the sixth year of this innovative programme which is a key part of our overall commitment to support sustainable suckler beef production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
“The BDGP has also introduced genetic technology into the national herd thus improving farm profitability.”
“Ensuring the rapid issuing of payments of schemes such as the BDGP is a key priority of mine in supporting our suckler beef sector and comes as part of the latest measure both this Government and Department has delivered for suckler farmers.”
Budget 2021
As part of Budget 2021, €6m was secured to fund a new suckler marketing campaign while a further €85m has been allocated. These measures include €40m for the rollover of the BDGP, a further €40m for BEEP and €5m for the calf weighing scheme.
These come on top of the €76m BEAM scheme and the €46m Beef Finisher payment which issued in November.
BDGP payments will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as more farmers verify their compliance with the 2020 scheme requirements.
The Minister urged participating farmers, “to return all surveys and genotyping samples and/or complete the carbon navigator update as soon as possible to facilitate payment”.
The Minister added, “Last week, I confirmed that European Commission approval had been received for the continuity of farm schemes in 2021, including BDGP.”
“My Department will be contacting current BDGP participants this week to explain about how they can opt into BDGP for 2021. They will receive formal letters and SMS text messages.”
“I want to ensure that I am protecting farm family incomes with the minimum of paperwork. So, for now, farmers should consider whether they wish to continue in schemes in 2021, and be ready to reply when they are contacted by the Department.”
