Increased BVD payment of €320/suckler calf 'falls well short' – ICSA

The increase in compensation for animals testing positive for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is welcome but is years overdue and falls well short of what is required to reflect the true financial losses faced by farmers, according to the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA).

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon announced this week that farmers who disclosed BVD virus positive or inconclusive animals during 2025 will be paid €200 for a dairy calf and €320 for a suckler calf under the BVD financial support programme. These payments have increased from €160 and €220 respectively.

Payments for 2025-born calves will be made in 2026, according to the Department.

ICSA's animal health and welfare chair John Barron has said that the increase in support is a step in the right direction, but the compensation levels have remained unchanged for many years and should have been addressed much earlier.

“Five or six years ago, when ICSA began looking for an increase in BVD compensation, a change of this scale might have made a meaningful difference.

"At today’s market values, however, the revised payment barely touches the sides of what is needed.”

He said compensation levels would need to be at least double the updated rates to come anywhere close to reflecting the true market value of affected animals.

“For suckler farmers in particular, the impact goes well beyond the loss of a calf. When a calf tests positive for BVD, the farmer effectively loses the production of that cow for the entire year. That is a major financial hit in a system where margins are already extremely tight.”

“The eradication programme has required huge commitment from farmers and that commitment should be recognised through compensation that realistically reflects the cost of the losses involved. This underlines the need for the Department to keep support schemes under regular review, so they remain aligned with the real economic impact on farmers," Barron said.

At today’s market values, however, the revised payment barely touches the sides of what is needed

ICSA has said it will continue to engage with the Department to ensure that supports are fair and proportionate for suckler and beef farmers affected by BVD.

IFA

Meanwhile, IFA animal health chair David Hall has said that the increase in BVD compensation needs to go further.

The new rates of €320 for a calf from a suckler-breed dam and €200 for a calf from a dairy-breed dam are a recognition that previous compensation levels were too low, he said.

“While this increase is a step in the right direction, the rates remain far below market value for calves. Farmers continue to bear a significant financial loss when removing PI animals.

"In 2025, 561 PI animals were removed from farms, placing a large burden on affected farms. Increasing compensation to levels closer to the open market value would not cost the Exchequer a significant amount but would make a massive difference to the farmers impacted.

"Identifying a PI animal brings additional work and stress, including extra testing and the retention of calves that would otherwise have been sold. This adds to the workload of farm families during the busiest time of the year," Hall said.

Farmers, he added, have made a major financial commitment to the BVD eradication programme since 2013.

Hall acknowledged the wider benefits of the programme, including reduced antibiotic use, improved animal performance, and younger ages of slaughter, all of which support national policy objectives. However, he warned that the programme is now stagnating at low levels of infection.

“Maintaining farmer trust in the BVD programme is essential to achieving disease freedom and supporting current and future disease control initiatives. Suckler and dairy farmers cannot be left to continually carry the financial burden while the benefits of eradication extend far beyond the farm gate," he said.