Farm Finance: time running out for BEAM applications

Farmers only have a limited amount of time left to apply for the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM), with a deadline of midnight on 8 September for applications to be made. All applications for the scheme must be made online.

Requirements

There are a number of requirements for farmers to be eligible for the scheme. The farmer must be the herd owner of an active herd; being a herd keeper is not sufficient.

The farmer must also be a member of at least one environmental scheme or quality assurance scheme at the time of application, or undertake to become a member of a qualifying scheme prior to 1 December 2019.

The herd must have at least one eligible animal. The herd may also not be a dealer or an agent.

New entrants to farming may not be eligible for the scheme, as you are required to have submitted a BPS application in 2018. You are also ineligible if you have more than 40 dairy cows.

Issues

The biggest issue with the scheme is the requirement for farmers to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen (N) by 5% for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, compared with the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 as recorded on Department systems. Slurry exports cannot be used as a way of reducing this figure.

Farmers should give serious consideration to the reduction required before applying to the scheme.

According to the terms of the scheme, the reduction cannot be got around by claiming additional land to offset the figure.

For example, if there is a holding with 12 suckler cows, selling all calves at 12 months old, the farm has a total N figure of 1,068kg. The 5% reduction would be equivalent to 53kg. The easiest way that this will be achieved is to reduce cow numbers by one. This farmer would receive a payment of €480.

For smaller farmers not finishing stock, it is strongly recommended to calculate what payment you are eligible for before you make an application.

Payments

Cattle aged over 12 months sent to the factory between 24 September 2018 and 12 May 2019 are eligible for a payment of €100/head, subject to a maximum of 100 such animals or a maximum payment of €10,000.

Suckler farmers who do not finish cattle are also eligible for the scheme.

Beef-bred female animals with progeny born in the year 2018, which were sired by a beef-bred bull, are eligible at a rate of €40/animal.

The maximum number of cows that can be applied for is 40.

This gives a maximum payment for a suckler farmer who does not finish any of their cattle of €1,600.

Where an animal has been presented for slaughter by an agent or by a dealer within 30 days of purchase, including those purchased in the mart, payment may issue to the immediate previous herd owner if they are eligible.

Payments will commence in the fourth quarter of 2019.

To make an application, farmers need to log on to agfood.ie. To access the BEAM application, click on the ‘Exceptional Aid Measures’ link. Once you click on this link, you will be brought to a relatively blank page, where you will need to click on the ‘Applications’ tab on the top left-hand corner of the page.

On the next page, you must click on the ‘New application’ tab to make your application. This next screen will show you how much you are eligible for through the scheme. It will show you your nitrates reference figure, as well as your target figure after the 5% reduction.