The Irish Farmers Journal understands that Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is set to approve a new €20m suckler support fund as part of Budget 2019.

In addition, ANC payments restored to 2008 levels. According to the IFA, this would require an increased spend of €25m.

It is understood that the new suckler fund will see farmers receive a payment of up to €40 per suckler cow for providing weight data on both cows and calves. Low levels of weight recording on suckler farms has long been perceived as a weakness of the national beef herd. Increased data on the physical performance of weanlings and mature cow weight would play an important role in identifying superior genetics that would in turn help reduce the carbon footprint of suckler beef production.

In the run up to the budget, the IFA lead a strong campaign calling for the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed to introduce a payment of €200 per cow. Over 44,000 people supported the campaign through a petition organised by the Irish Farmers Journal. While the measures due to be introduced under Budget 2019 fall short of this figure, the announcement of a €20m fund is significant. Many will see it as a recognition by Government that the suckler sector plays a key role in generating economic activity in rural Ireland and needs targeted support. The move will help alleviate concerns among suckler farmers that Government policy was to let the sector slowly wither away in order to help achieve climate change targets.

The targeted support scheme is also important in the context of ongoing discussions around providing support for economically vulnerable sectors in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). While it is understood that the new scheme will operate separately to the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), farmers participating in both will receive a payment equivalent to €120 per cow.