Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has today (Wednesday, April 9) announced the reopening of the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme (DBWS) for new applicants.

The scheme has a budget of €25 million over four years (2024 – 2027) and is co-funded by the European Union as part of the CSP.

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

Participants are required to use AI straws or stock bulls with a minimum rating of three stars on the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) Dairy Beef Index (DBI) and on the beef sub-index of the DBI.

Payment is €20 per eligible calf, up to a maximum of 50 calves, for each of the scheme years that the applicant is an active participant.

Active participants who applied in 2024 will be eligible for payment for each of the four years of the scheme, subject to compliance with scheme terms and conditions.

Farmers who apply for the scheme in 2025 will be eligible for payment for the next three years.

Payments will be made to eligible participants in the March following the scheme year end, meaning that payments for the 2025 scheme year will be made in March 2026.

Minister Heydon said that this scheme "demonstrates the commitment of this government to supporting greater integration of the dairy and beef herds to improve the quality, welfare and viability of male calves from dairy herds".

Last month, €4.73 million in payments issued to some 7,612 farmers who applied to participate in the scheme in 2024.

Applicants to the scheme in 2024, do not need to reapply to the scheme as their application will automatically roll over to 2025.

New applicants, or the Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisor authorised to act on their behalf, can submit their application to the CSP Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme online through Agfood.ie until 23:59p.m on May 15, 2025.

Minister Heydon noted that the €4 million National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme is also currently open for applications via Agfood.ie until 15 May 2025.