BEAM Scheme
€100m BEEF EXCEPTIONAL AID MEASURE (BEAM)
**Update: The online application process has been extended to 5pm, September 20th, 2019.**
The €100m Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) was secured by IFA for Beef and Suckler farmers in recognition of the huge losses experienced due to the market volatility associated with BREXIT following an extensive lobbying campaign.
This scheme is for cattle slaughtered between 24th September 2018 and 12th May 2019 inclusive and calves registered in suckler herds in 2018
IFA has raised concerns with some of the Terms and Conditions of the scheme and will continue to seek changes in favour of farmers.
IFA is also seeking additional funding for cattle slaughtered since 12th May in recognition of the on-going price difficulties and for suckler cows in 2019.
Yes.
This €100m scheme is specifically designed and provided for beef and suckler farmers who have borne the brunt of the beef market price volatility primarily caused by the BREXIT uncertainty.
IFA has raised concerns with some of the Terms and Conditions of the scheme and will continue to seek changes. However, it is important all eligible farmers apply for and receive their share of this important fund. All of this fund must be drawn down by and paid to farmers. High uptake of this scheme will also improve the chances of additional funding being provided for farmers who sold beef cattle since the 12th May.
Herds which meet all of the following criteria shall be eligible for participation in the scheme:
- The herdowner is the holder of an active herd number.
- The herdowner is farming a holding in respect of which a BPS application was submitted to the Department for the year 2018.
- The herdowner is a member of at least one environmental or quality scheme at the time of application, or undertakes to become a member of a quality scheme prior to 01 December 2019.
- The herd has at least one eligible animal as set out below.
- The herd is not an agent or a dealer herd.
- The herd is not a milk supplier, except in the case where the herd had 40 dairy cows or less on 31 December 2018 as identified on AIM.
Environmental scheme
means the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS), Organic Farm Scheme (OFS), Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), or the Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) scheme.
Quality scheme
means the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme.
Yes.
Applicants who undertake to become a member of a quality scheme prior to 01 December 2019 will be deemed eligible.
Applications for BEAM can only be submitted online through
www.agfood.ie
either by the applicant themselves or by an individual authorised to act on their behalf.
To apply yourself, you must have registered for Online Services. If you have not already registered, you can do so by clicking on the ‘Register’ button on the
www.agfood.ie
homepage and completing the required fields. Please allow a couple of days for completion of your registration as a code will need to issue to you via post to allow you log in.
Applicants who use an agent will have to authorise their agent to access their ‘Exception Aid Measures’ before an application can be submitted. This can be completed via an SMS text message facility initiated by the agent or by using an Authorisation form.
If you require assistance logging onto or registering for
www.agfood.ie
. You can call
0761064424
Eligible animals are those bovine animals identified on AIM at
midnight on 29 July 2019
as either those aged
over 12 months presented to a slaughtering establishment
approved under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations (SI 432 of 2009) in the
period 24 September 2018 to 12 May 2019 inclusive
, and/or those
beef breed female animals with progeny born in the year 2018
, which were
sired by a beef breed bull
.
Bovine animals aged over 12 months
presented to a slaughtering establishment in the period
24 September 2018 to 12 May 2019 inclusive
receive
€ 100 per animal
subject to a
maximum of 100 such animals
per eligible herd;
and/or
Beef breed female animals
with progeny born in the
year 2018
, which were sired by a beef breed bull, (Suckler Cows) receive
€ 40 per animal
subject to a
maximum of 40 such animals
per eligible herd.
Yes.
Where an animal has been presented for slaughter by an agent or by a dealer within 30 days of purchase, including those purchased in the mart, payment may issue to the immediate previous herdowner or in respect of the previous eligible herd number, where that herdowner is an applicant.
No.
Each applicant must undertake to meet all of the following commitments in order to participate in the Measure:
-
Reduce the production on the holding of
bovine livestock manure nitrogen by 5%
for the period
01 July 2020 to 30 June 2021
as compared with the period
01 July 2018 to 30 June 2019
as recorded on Department systems. Slurry exports are not reckonable as reduction. - Where an applicant’s participation in a pre-existing scheme or programme, administered by the Department, or where a pre-existing legal obligation requires a minimum number of bovine livestock, and where achieving such reduction as outlined above would result in a failure to meet that requirement, an applicant must apply to the Department for derogation prior to 30 September 2019. Applications must be submitted to Beef Schemes Section, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Government Buildings, Old Abbeyleix Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois. Such applications shall be reviewed on a case by case basis.
- An applicant must undertake to continue to be a member of at least one environmental or quality scheme for the duration of the Measure, except where participation in that environmental scheme is scheduled to end, that scheme expires, or the applicant ceases bovine livestock farming, or undertakes to become a member of a quality scheme prior to 01 December 2019 and continues to be a member of that quality scheme for the duration of the Measure
- Submit a BPS application to the Department in each of the years 2019 to 2021 inclusive.
Applicants should discuss with their planner/consultant the most appropriate way to achieve the reduction for their particular farm structure.
Some examples of how this could be achieved are provided by DAFM and set out below.
|
The simplest way to achieve this is to reduce stocking levels but reductions can also be achieved through the restructuring of an applicant’s herd.
The examples below show how the reduction might be achieved in some sample scenarios. Farm 1. Holding with 25 Suckler Cows and 25 calves to be sold at 12 months has a total nitrogen figure total of 2,225kg for the year. 5% reduction required is 112kg.
|
Farm 2. Holding with 70 Suckler Cows and 70 calves to be sold at 12 months has a total nitrogen figure total of 6,230kg for the year. 5% reduction required is 312kg.
|
Farm 3. Holding with 70 1 -2 year old cattle has a total nitrogen figure total of 3,990kg for the year. 5% reduction required is 200kg.
|
Farm 4. Holding with 14 Suckler cows and 12 calves to be sold at 12 months has a total nitrogen figure of 1198 for the year. 5% reduction required is 60kg.
|
Farm 5. Holding with 40 dairy cows and 30 suckler cows, 10 replacement calves, 70 calves to be sold at 12 months 10 replacement 1-2 year olds, has a total nitrogen figure total of 7,840kg for the year. 5% reduction required is 392kg.
|
Where the commitments of the scheme are not satisfied in full, except in cases of
Force Majeure
, the following penalties shall apply:
| Non-compliance | Penalty |
| Failure to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen by 5% for the period 01 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 as compared with the period 01 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. | Reduction of less than 4% shall incur a 100% penalty;
Reduction of 4% or more but less than 4.4% shall incur 80% penalty;
Reduction of 4.4% or more but less than 4.6% shall incur 60% penalty;
Reduction of 4.6% or more but less than 4.8% shall incur 40% penalty;
Reduction of 4.8% or more and less than 5% shall incur a 20% penalty;
|
| Failure to continue to be a member of at least one environmental scheme or quality scheme for the duration of the Measure, or failure to become a member of a quality scheme prior to 01 December 2019 and continue to be a member of that quality scheme for the duration of the Measure, except where participation in that scheme is scheduled to end, that scheme expires, or the applicant ceases bovine livestock farming. | 100% penalty |
| Where the Department establishes that the applicant has artificially created the conditions required for obtaining payment. | 100% penalty |
Yes.
Where an applicant withdraws from the scheme, all monies paid under the scheme shall be repaid to the Department, except in cases of Force Majeure.
Where a beneficiary is unable to continue complying with the requirements of the scheme for reasons beyond his/her control, a case may be made under Force Majeure to terminate participation in the Programme. In such cases the applicant, or his or her representative, should inform the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Beef Schemes Section, Old Abbeyleix Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois in writing, with relevant evidence, within fifteen working days from the date on which the beneficiary or the person entitled through them, is in a position to do so.
Without prejudice to the actual circumstances to be taken into consideration in individual cases the following categories of force majeure may be recognised by DAFM:
- death of the beneficiary,
- long term professional incapacity of the beneficiary,
- expropriation of all or a large part of the holding if that expropriation could not have been anticipated on the day of lodging the application,
- a severe natural disaster gravely affecting the holding,
- the accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the holding,
- an epizootic or a plant disease affecting part or all of the beneficiary’s livestock or crops respectively.
Source: DAFM Terms and Conditions – full details on the BEAM Scheme available on the DAFM website.