Co Limerick had the highest drop-off rate, with the number of herds receiving payments under the scheme dropping by 7.6% between 2015 and 2016. Co Westmeath was next with a 7.1% fall in the number of farms completing the programme last year.

All counties except Dublin saw the number of herds receiving payments shrink last year. The drop-off rate was lowest in Co Clare, Leitrim and Sligo, at around 3.5%. The suckler heartlands of Co Galway and Mayo, which have the largest number of BDGP participants, had mid-range figures, with 5.6% fewer farmers completing the programme last year.

There was a nationwide fall of 1,303 herds or 5.4% successfully claiming BDGP money in 2016 compared with 2015. This led to a €1.6m reduction in the total amount of payments to farmers under scheme last year, or 3.7%.

The Department appeared to be expecting a larger drop-off rate as the amount available for the scheme in Budget 2016 was in fact overspent. "Payments on the BDGP were €10m more than the original budget, rewarding the strong compliance with training and carbon navigator conditions and fast turnaround of claims," a Department spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

This is in contrast to the underspend observed on other schemes such as GLAS and TAMS.

The BDGP scheme has since opened to new participants for a second phase earlier this year.

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