Applications are currently being accepted for the €6 million On-Farm Badger Biosecurity Scheme which officially opened this week.

The scheme, which forms part of the government’s wider bovine tuberculosis (bTB) action plan, is aimed at helping farmers put additional biosecurity measures in place on their farms.

Under the scheme, farmers can receive grant support towards the cost of fencing off badger setts and buying specialised feed and water troughs designed to reduce contact between badgers and cattle.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said the scheme will be open for applications until May 31, 2026.

The scheme is limited to a maximum of 7,500 participants where all eligibility requirements are met.

Badger scheme

Under the scheme, farmers can apply for grant aid of 40% on approved biosecurity materials, up to a maximum eligible spend of €2,000, excluding VAT.

This means the maximum grant payable under this scheme is €800, excluding VAT.

The minimum amount of investment eligible for approval under this scheme is €500, excluding VAT, per herdowner.

The list of eligible materials under the scheme is as follows:

Water troughs

Concrete drinking troughs a minimum of 90cm in height;
Plastic drinking troughs a minimum 90cm in height. If the troughs are less than 90cm in height but greater than 60cm in height the trough maybe placed on a base of suitable solid material to ensure that the drinking level of the trough must be 90cm above the surface level of the ground;
Nose fill drink troughs erected a minimum of 90cm in height from surface of ground.

Feeding troughs

Galvanised or painted steel troughs a minimum of 60cm in height.

Fencing posts

Timber or metal or other permanent posts on Specification S.148A from an accepted fencing post supplier

Wire

Line wire shall be a minimum 2.5 mm galvanised or zinc/aluminium coating or zinc/aluminium coating nominal diameter high tensile fencing wire to B.S. 4102;
Barbed wire shall be formed of two number min. 1.6 mm high tensile line wires: I.S EN 10223-1;
Alternatively, the wire may be formed of two number minimum 2.0mm high tensile line wires, with a minimum tensile strength of 990N/mm2 (heavy duty high tensile barbed wire).

The department said the fencing materials covered under the scheme shall only be used to fence the area around badgers setts to exclude cattle from the area surrounding the opening of a badger sett.

The fence must be erected a minimum of 3.5 metres from the opening of the sett.

The deparment said in cases of a large sett with a number of openings it is advised to erect the fence a distance greater than 3.5 metres from the openings.

DAFM noted the fence must contain a minimum of two strands of wire, adding that "the purpose of the fence is to keep cattle back from setts, and not to fence the badger in".

The location of all badger setts being fenced under the scheme must be identified on the department’s Basic Income Support Scheme Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) maps.

The department may request geotagged photographic evidence of the location of the eligible items purchased under the scheme.

Farmers are reminded that they must not interfere with badgers or their setts.

Badgers are a protected species and setts are protected structures under the Wildlife Acts.

Eligibility

To qualify for the scheme, applicants must have submitted a 2025 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application and have cattle on their holding this year.

All successful applicants will be issued an approval letter from the department following an examination of their eligibility.

Once approval is granted, farmers will be able to purchase approved materials from participating co-ops and agri-retailers between July 1 and August 31, 2026.

Only purchases from the list of approved co-ops/agri-merchants on the DAFM website will be considered for support under the scheme.

The department said a farmer shall pay the participating co-op or agri-merchant for the eligible materials in full, excluding the scheme contribution made by the department.

If the cost of the materials are charged to a farmer’s account the co-op or agri-merchant will refund the grant amount to the customer’s account or by cheque.