Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has announced that payments for scheme year two of a key dairy beef scheme are underway.

The payments come under the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (CSP) Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme.

In total, over €5.98 million has commenced issuing to some 9,175 paticipating farmers, supporting 299,839 dairy beef calves.

This payment represents a 17.4% increase in the number of calves supported in scheme year one.

The Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme provides support to dairy farmers to improve the animal health and welfare of the national dairy herd by using better genetic merit beef sires.

This is the second year of the scheme as part of the CAP Strategic Plan, with payments issuing in respect of eligible calves born on applicants’ holdings between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.

Payment of €20 per eligible calf (up to a maximum of 50 calves per applicant herd) will be made to eligible participants. These payments will be visible in farmers' bank accounts in the coming days.

Minister Heydon commented: “The issuing of payments under the...scheme supports both dairy and beef farmers who recognise the benefits from the greater integration of the beef and dairy herds that this scheme supports."

The minister said the scheme will reopen for applications in April 2026 for new applicants, but farmers who applied in 2024 or 2025 do not need to reapply, as their participation in the scheme will automatically continue.

Dairy beef margins

Latest figures show that the net margin figures on DairyBeef500 demonstration farms rose substantially in 2025.

Excluding subsidies and direct payments, the average net margin on the DairyBeef500 demonstration farms rose to €1,465/ha across the group in 2025. This is a 104% increase in profitability versus the previous year.

DairyBeef 500 programme manager Alan Dillon said that the increase in profitability is substantial, but noted the difference between the top third and bottom third of the monitor farms.