In the Bdgp Scheme? You Have Until November 30th to Complete a Carbon Navigator

If you are in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme, you must have a Beef Carbon Navigator completed on your farm by November 30th in order to be paid in December.

The Carbon Navigator is an online farm management package produced by Bord Bia and Teagasc that quantifies the environmental gains that can be made on a farm.

The first completion of the Carbon Navigator must be undertaken in conjunction with an approved advisor. The cost of this will be incorporated into the annual BDGP payment.

What do I need to do?

The Department through Teagasc have trained qualified advisors on the process of completing a carbon navigator. Details of trained advisors are available here.

You should make an appointment with an approved advisor. This meeting will take an average of 2 hours during which the advisor will assist you in the completion of the navigator and provide you with an overview of the benefits associated with reaching the individual targets set out in the navigator.

From next year on you will have to complete the navigator yourself through the submission of key data via survey forms issued by the ICBF

What’s examined in the Beef Carbon Navigator?

The navigator quantifies the environmental gains that can be made on each applicant’s farm by setting targets in key areas such as grassland management. Specifically in 2016 each participant is required to provide details that highlight how a farm’s GHG emissions can be reduced.

The areas covered are as follows:

• Longer grazing season,
• Younger age at first calving,
• Higher calving rate,
• Improved growth rates,
• Nitrogen efficiency, and
• Slurry management.

The report compares your farm performance with other similar farms and highlights the potential impact on income and GHG emissions of reaching the targets set.

More information on the requirements of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.