THE fact that over 20,000 farmers have applied for inclusion in the new suckler cow scheme is a positive indication for a farming sector that’s considered to be one of the main bedrocks of agriculture in the West of Ireland, according to Galway’s IFA Livestock representative, Micheál Haverty.

He said that since 2018, there had been a 12% to 14% decrease in Irish suckler cow numbers across the county mainly due to the tight margins and the labour intensive nature of  in the enterprise.

“The fact that over 20,000 farmers have applied for inclusion in the new SCEP scheme is a step in the right direction. Without a viable suckler cow sector across the country, and especially in the West of Ireland, the viability of the country’s multi-billion euro beef sector would be in doubt,” Micheál Haverty told the Farming Tribune.

He also called for no time lag to follow with the introduction of the new BEEP-S scheme which would be an additional financial supplement to the SCEP payments. “The Minister [Charlie McConalogue] has committed to introducing the new BEEP-S scheme as quickly as possible – we are expecting confirmation of this over the next week or two,” said Micheál Haverty.

Galway tops the county ‘league table’ in terms of SCEP (Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme) applications (which closed on May 22 last) with 2,428 farmers from the county applying, followed by Mayo on 1,886, Clare on 1,791, Cork (1,537), Roscommon (1,196), Donegal (1,067) and Kerry (1,050).

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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