Macra has warned that the National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme changes threaten to further destabilise confidence in beef. \ Donal O'Leary
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Macra president Josephine O’Neill has called on Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to reverse a cut to National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme payments for those who applied for more than 31 calves.
The scheme’s payment rate remains at the €20/calf that had been announced when the scheme opened, but the maximum number of eligible calves has been reduced from 50 to just 31.
This will cut the scheme’s maximum attainable payment from €1,000 per farmer to €620.
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Macra has said that the move is “deeply concerning for all who signed up, but it is especially damaging for young farmers and new entrants who are in the crucial early stages of building their farm business”.
“At a time when beef farmers are already facing huge uncertainty and tight margins, it’s disappointing to see such significant cuts,” O’Neill stated.
“Decisions like this further destabilise beef farming in Ireland when security and stability are needed, particularly to encourage and retain the next generation of beef farmers.”
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Macra president Josephine O’Neill has called on Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to reverse a cut to National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme payments for those who applied for more than 31 calves.
The scheme’s payment rate remains at the €20/calf that had been announced when the scheme opened, but the maximum number of eligible calves has been reduced from 50 to just 31.
This will cut the scheme’s maximum attainable payment from €1,000 per farmer to €620.
Macra has said that the move is “deeply concerning for all who signed up, but it is especially damaging for young farmers and new entrants who are in the crucial early stages of building their farm business”.
“At a time when beef farmers are already facing huge uncertainty and tight margins, it’s disappointing to see such significant cuts,” O’Neill stated.
“Decisions like this further destabilise beef farming in Ireland when security and stability are needed, particularly to encourage and retain the next generation of beef farmers.”
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