1 NOVEMBER 2019

ICSA president Edmond Phelan has welcomed the announcement by Minister Creed this morning to extend the closing dates for the BEEP scheme. Farmers will now have until 8 Nov to weigh their cows and unweaned calves and submit their data to ICBF by 15 Nov at 5pm. Mr Phelan said he would encourage all those who have yet to fulfil these tasks to do so without delay.

“ICSA called for this extension and we are pleased the minister has agreed to give farmers additional time. Ultimately, we want to see this scheme continued as it improves the quality of the data transmitted to ICBF and is useful for farmers to measure the performance of their animals.”

However, Mr Phelan said that the money is just a drop in the ocean compared to the challenges facing the sector, and on its own it won’t be enough. “The reality is that an extra €40 is not enough to make a real difference for suckler farmers. There is scope for additional payments to assist the sector which are compatible with EU objectives and ICSA will continue to push for additional financial supports for suckler farmers.”

ENDS