ALMOST 2,500 Galway suckler farmers should be receiving their SCEP payments from this week – nationally the average payout per farmer works out at around €3,000.

In Galway, 2,482 farmers are in SCEP (Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme) – Connacht is also the biggest province in terms of applications with 7,090 participants.

Mayo has the second highest number of SCEP farmers – 1,886 – out of a national total of 15,364 participants in the scheme. The total payout under SCEP over the coming days will be €46 million, according to the Dept. of Agriculture.

This week, Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, said that the SCEP payments would ‘further build on the range of support schemes available for beef farmers’.

However, he advised some participants in the scheme – who hadn’t already submitted all the necessary data and documentation – to do so as soon as possible in order to free up any outstanding payments. He also advised that payments may take up to five days to reach farmers’ accounts.

“SCEP provides support to beef farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd. This is the first year of SCEP as part of the CAP.

“It builds on the gains delivered in recent years through the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP) by improving the genetic merit of the Irish Suckler herd,” said Minister McConalogue.

Galway IFA Chair, Stephen Canavan, said that the issuing of the SCEP payments was very welcome and he asked any farmer who hadn’t submitted all their data to do so as a matter of urgency in order to draw down all their monies.

“We know that there are some deductions in the payment amounts to farmers on the basis of data that has to be supplied.

“Once that is done, then the balance of the monies will be paid out,” said Stephen Canavan.

Pictured: Stephen Canavan: Get all SCEP data into Dept.