DAERA has confirmed it has taken a further 6.5% off entitlement values held by all farmers, to primarily fund a new suckler cow scheme in NI, which commenced on 1 April 2025.The 6.5% reduction has created a pot of over £17m. It is in addition to the 9% cut, initially made in 2024, to create a £26m fund for payments under the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme.
DAERA has confirmed it has taken a further 6.5% off entitlement values held by all farmers, to primarily fund a new suckler cow scheme in NI, which commenced on 1 April 2025.
The 6.5% reduction has created a pot of over £17m. It is in addition to the 9% cut, initially made in 2024, to create a £26m fund for payments under the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme.
With both beef schemes now operational in 2025, it means that out of the £293.5m annually set aside for direct payments to NI farmers, around £45m is to be redirected at beef schemes this year. In other words, when compared to 2023, all payment entitlements held by farmers have seen a 15.5% reduction in value.
As a result, the average value of payment entitlements in NI is down from around £118/ac in 2023, to approximately £100/ac in 2025.
Trading
With confirmation that 2025 entitlements are being cut by 6.5%, it has allowed DAERA to open the entitlement trading window from today (Thursday). The closing date for transfers has been extended to 15 May 2025.
Lease agreements for entitlements in 2025 are limited to one year only.
The basic payment scheme (BPS), which has applied since 2015, has been renamed the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment in 2025, ahead of a formal switch to a new Farm Sustainability Payment in 2026. This years’ transition payment comes with the same rules as applied under BPS in recent years.
Opt-in process opens for suckler cow scheme
Farmers can now opt-in to the new suckler cow scheme, which commenced on 1 April 2025.
Similar to the Beef Carbon Reduction scheme, farmers only have to opt-in once from 2025 onwards. Those that opt-in and meet the criteria around age at first calving for heifers and calving interval of suckler cows, will receive a payment rate of £100 for each eligible calving event.
Only registered online users can opt-in online, otherwise it will be necessary to get an agent to do this on your behalf.
The opt-in process can be accessed via: https://www2.dardni.gov.uk/beefsustainability.
This is a subscriber-only article
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