For the first time in 20 years, Northern Ireland (NI) farmers will receive a headage based payment when the first pay-out is made under the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme in March 2025.

Funded by taking 9% off all area payments to NI farmers in 2024, payment rates under the scheme started out in January 2024 at £20 per head, rising to £40 per head in February, £60 in March and £75 per head thereafter.

All prime NI born and reared cattle are eligible when slaughtered at a maximum age of 30 months. From 1 January 2025, this changes to a maximum age of 28 months.

To receive the payment this coming March, farmers must opt in to the scheme by 31 December 2024 via the DAERA website. That op-in process has been available since early April 2024.

Looking at data relating to cattle slaughtered during 2024, DAERA have anticipated that around 9,500 farmers will opt-in to the scheme.

By the middle of September there were still around 3,000 yet to sign up. Since then, the Department along with farm lobby organisations and the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) have taken significant action to raise awareness, but by mid-December over 1,000 farmers had still not completed the online process.

While some farmers inevitably leave any communications with DAERA to the last minute, it highlights the fact that there are some farmers who are totally disengaged with all forms of communication from DAERA unless it is an official letter sent direct to their door.

It is also possible that some farmers don’t realise they are in-line for money. The payment goes to the person who owned the animal for at least 60 days in the last 100 days of life, so farmers who sold forward cattle through a mart should also opt in.

Suckler payment

The original DAERA plan was for a suckler payment to be introduced at the same time as the BCR scheme, with 17% taken off area payments of all farmers to fund both. However, the suckler scheme was originally put back for 12 months and has since been delayed until 1 April 2025.

To be eligible from 1 April 2025 onwards, mature suckler cows must have a calving interval (days from one calving to the next) of a maximum of 415 days, while heifers must calve down for the first time at a maximum of 34 months. In year 2, these targets change to 405 days and 32 months respectively.

Assuming the suckler scheme does begin on 1 April 2025, the first payments to farmers are likely to be made in the spring of 2026.