Various schemes coming as part of the new Sustainable Agriculture Programme might have been devised by DAERA policy makers, but it was left to CAFRE advisers to deliver the messages at the first of a series of farmer meetings taking place at the start of the week.At Greenmount on Tuesday it was made clear that CAFRE staff were there to give an overview of the programmes, not explain why various policies have been introduced.
Various schemes coming as part of the new Sustainable Agriculture Programme might have been devised by DAERA policy makers, but it was left to CAFRE advisers to deliver the messages at the first of a series of farmer meetings taking place at the start of the week.
At Greenmount on Tuesday it was made clear that CAFRE staff were there to give an overview of the programmes, not explain why various policies have been introduced.
At the same time, we have to acknowledge that the Department has taken a measured approach, while being mindful of the pressure from the green lobby and the need to address some flaws in existing schemes originally devised in Brussels, not Belfast.
That is probably most evident in the new Farm Sustainability Transition Payment, which is replacing the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2025.
The rules relating to the new payment in 2025 are the same as those that have applied to the BPS in recent years. It will be 2026 and beyond before any substantive changes are made.
As a result, the most important change coming this year is the roll-out of a new suckler cow scheme from 1 April. It might only be relevant to just over 13,000 farms, but it impacts everyone, as the money to pay for it will come from a top-slice off all payments.
The scheme itself looks pretty straightforward, with various easements compared to what was originally envisaged back in 2021. Those original plans included farm quotas and six-month retention periods for eligible animals.
What is still in place are requirements around age at first calving for heifers and calving interval (CI) targets for mature cows. These targets have been slightly revised from those in 2021, but they remain exacting, particularly around CI.
In the first year, the CI target is 415 days, dropping to 405 days in Year 2 and 395 days and 385 days after that.
On Tuesday, we had CAFRE advisers outlining the importance of having a defined calving block. Yet, those Year 3 and 4 targets will simply force farmers to start breeding earlier year-on-year, ultimately pulling calving forward and in a spring system, adding significant cost.
Hopefully over time, those CI targets will be revised.
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