ICSA calls for extra funding for Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has said this year;s National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS) must have "sufficient funding" to ensure all eligible calves are paid for in full.
Earlier this week, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon announced the opening of the 2026 NDBWS.
The €4 million scheme, which is designed to support farmers rearing progeny from the dairy herd, is unchanged from last year's version.
ICSA beef chair Sean Sherman said the 2026 scheme must be backed by sufficient funding to ensure all eligible calves are paid for in full, following last year’s cuts due to oversubscription
He said: “Farmers were told they would be paid on up to 50 calves under this scheme in 2025, but after completing the work, that figure was cut back to just 31.
“That is not acceptable and it cannot be allowed to happen again.
“It is very concerning that the scheme has reopened for 2026 on an unchanged basis, with no additional funding, despite what happened last year.”
According to Sherman, Minister Heydon “knows this scheme was oversubscribed, yet it is going ahead again with the same budget”.
He added: “Farmers need to know in advance what they will be paid, not find out afterwards.”
Pressure
The ICSA representative suggested that there is likely to be higher demand for the scheme this year.
He said: “More farmers are under pressure from rising costs and tighter margins, and many are turning to dairy-beef systems as a lower-cost option.
“That means more calves are likely to be entered into the scheme in 2026, which increases the risk of it being oversubscribed again.
“Oversubscription should not be used as an excuse to cut payments after the work is done."
He said that if the department knew demand exceeded the budget last year, "then the obvious step was to increase the funding".
“Instead, farmers are being asked to sign up again without any certainty on payment," Sherman continued.
“Farmers are already under pressure with the day-to-day workload on farms, and any task required under a scheme like this must be paid for in full.
“It is only fair that they are paid for the calves they submit, up to the maximum of 50.
“Without that guarantee, all of the risk is being placed on the farmer, with no certainty on payment.”
Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association
The same scheme has also criticised by the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
Michael O Connell, chair of ICMSA's Livestock Committee, said farmers believe the Department of Agriculture, Food the Marine (DAFM) has not made any move to "remedy" problems identified with the 2025 NDBWS.
O'Connell said of Minister Heydon: "The minister should know better than setting out that a farmer can claim €20 per head on a maximum of 50 calves when the 2025 scheme was completely oversubscribed and the same is likely to happen in 2026.
"Last year, participants received a linear cut in the number of eligible payable calves which was reduced to 31 from 50 outlined in the terms and conditions.
"We don’t think it’s acceptable to lead farmers into a false sense of expectation here and be over selling the scheme when we all know that it’s almost certain that the payments will fall short again based on an already insufficient budget."
