€100m fund announced for Brexit beef farmers
Details of a €100m fund for beef farmers facing uncertainty due to Brexit have been announced by the Government.
Agriculture minister Michael Creed said the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) will be funded by a combination of EU exceptional aid and Exchequer support and is “provided in light of the difficult circumstances that Irish beef farmers have been facing as a result of market volatility and uncertainty arising out of Brexit”.
BEAM is targeted towards those farmers most affected and is a demand-led, voluntary scheme.
Farmers who meet the initial eligibility criteria will then have to commit to meeting the following conditions in order to qualify for aid.
Each participant must:
- Be a member of a Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme or a DAFM environmental scheme
- Reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen (total figure) per herd by 5% for a target period (1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021) compared to a reference period (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019).
Aid will be paid on adult cattle slaughtered between September 24, 2018, and May 12, 2019, at a rate of €100 per animal subject to a maximum of 100 finished animals per herd. Aid will also be paid on suckler cows that calved in 2018, at a rate of €40 per animal subject to a maximum of 40 sucklers per herd.
However, dairy herds are not eligible for the measure, with the exception of dairy herds of less than 40 dairy cows.
Animals controlled by slaughtering establishments, and dealer/agent herds, are not eligible for this financial aid.
In the event that the scheme is oversubscribed, payment rates may be subject to minor revision.
The move comes as beef farmers across the country carry out a protest tomorrow against plans to reduce the national herd in a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
