The 2025 Beef Welfare Scheme (BWS) has officially opened for applications, offering increased funding and a higher upper limit on eligible animals compared to last year. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, highlighted that the scheme provides farmers with the chance to complete a wider range of straightforward measures aimed at optimising animal performance throughout their lifetime. Details of the scheme were announced earlier in April to allow farmers ample time to plan their participation.
The BWS will support farmers in meal feeding suckler calves at weaning and allow them to undertake voluntary actions to maximise their payments. All suckler farmers with eligible calves born between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 can apply. Applications must be submitted online via agfood.ie by 24 September 2025, with no late submissions accepted. Payments for participants who meet all validation checks are expected to begin in December 2025.
Farmers can participate in both the BWS and the five-year Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP), potentially earning up to €225 per cow/calf pair for the first 22 pairs in a herd. Valued at €28 million, the scheme reinforces the Government’s commitment to supporting suckler beef production. Minister Heydon encouraged all eligible farmers to review the terms and conditions and submit applications on time.
Participants must retain receipts for meal feeding, vaccination, and testing actions if chosen, and present these records upon request for payment processing. Farmers engaged in the Parasite Control Consult under the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) who opt for the faecal egg count action there should avoid selecting the same option in the 2025 BWS to prevent duplication.
