The payment rate for the new beef headage scheme in NI has been set at £75/head, DAERA has confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal.

The Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme comes into effect on 1 January 2024 and payments will be introduced on a phased basis.

Prime cattle that meet the criteria in January will be eligible for a £20 payment, with this rising to £40 in February and then £60 in March.

“From April 2024 onwards, a payment rate of £75 will apply for each eligible animal,” a DAERA spokesperson said.

All NI-born prime cattle that are slaughtered under 30 months of age will be eligible for the payment in 2024. The age criteria for the scheme will then drop each year to reach 26 months in year four (2027).

DAERA has previously confirmed a minimum retention period will be set so the payment will only go to the person who owned each animal for at least 60 days during the last 100 days of its life.

Payments for the first year of the £25m scheme will not be issued until early 2025 and it will be funded by taking approximately 8.5% off all Basic Payments in NI next year.

Some farmers have criticised the scheme for not having a cap on payments, which means large scale beef finishers are set to receive significant pay-outs.

It differs from the new Suckler Cow Scheme, which is to be introduced in 2025 with first payments in 2026, as a quota system will limit payments in each herd.

Similarly, the new area-based Farm Sustainability Payment will have a progressive cap starting at £60,000 and an upper limit is also to be set for the new Farming With Nature agri-environment scheme.