Deadline for beef scheme approaching

Farmers could be eligible for this scheme even if they sold cattle at the mart.

If a farmer did not slaughter the animal they could still be eligible for payment if they kept the animal within their herd for at least 60 days within the last 100 days before slaughter.

However, if farmers do not opt in to the scheme by the end of December, they will miss out on the £75 payment per animal.

It must also be noted that the age of slaughter for BCRS will reduce to 28 months and under from 1 January 2025.

How to opt in?

To receive BCR payments, eligible farm businesses must opt into the scheme online to receive payment and can do so now via the DAERA website, www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/how-do-i-opt-bcr.

To be able to opt in, you will be asked to sign in using your GOV.UK Government Gateway or Northern Ireland Identity Assurance (NIDA) details.

You only need to opt-in once from 2024.

Once you have opted in, you will receive a message through DAERA messaging service confirming this.

For more information on the BCR scheme, including business and animal eligibility rules, follow www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/beef-carbon-reduction-scheme.

BCR is a new payment scheme for beef farmers in Northern Ireland. The scheme opened on 1 January 2024. BCR works on scheme years, with one payment per scheme year. Each scheme year will run from 1 January to 31 December.