NI suckler farmers receive first £13.3m scheme payments

Thousands of Northern Ireland suckler farmers are receiving the first payments under DAERA’s Suckler Cow Scheme, with £13.3 million now being issued.

Payments for the first year of the scheme began on 25 June 2026, covering 133,091 eligible calving events across 98.6% of eligible farm businesses.

Each qualifying calving event receives £100, with a Northern Ireland-wide cap of 222,000 eligible calving events per scheme year.

The Suckler Cow Scheme is a key part of DAERA’s Sustainable Agriculture Programme and sits within the Beef Sustainability Package.

It is designed to improve environmental performance and productivity in the suckler sector, while supporting profitability and helping reduce emissions.

The scheme rewards suckler businesses for meeting breeding efficiency targets, including earlier first calving and shorter calving intervals.

In Year 1, 85% of eligible farm businesses opted into the scheme, while around 72% of all calving events achieved the first-year targets.

For suckler producers facing high input costs and pressure to improve efficiency, the payments provide both financial support and an incentive to tighten herd performance.

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir said he was encouraged by the strong uptake in the first year of the scheme.

He said: “I am very encouraged by the strong uptake in Year 1 of the Suckler Cow Scheme and am pleased to announce the commencement of the first payments under the Scheme to eligible farm businesses.”

He added: “While the principal purpose of the scheme is to deliver environmental benefits, in the current economic climate, these payments will also provide important support to our farm businesses.”

DAERA said payments will continue to be issued to remaining farm businesses once validations have been completed.

Year 2 of the Suckler Cow Scheme began on 1 April 2026, with tougher breeding targets now in place.

The maximum age at first calving is now 32 months, while the maximum calving interval is 405 days.

Farm businesses that have not yet opted into the scheme can still do so through the DAERA website, with the Year 2 opt-in window open until 31 March 2027.

DAERA said farm businesses only need to opt in once to receive payments from the 2025 scheme year onwards.

Once opted in, businesses will receive payment for eligible calving events each year, provided all scheme criteria are met.

No penalties will apply if a farm business opts in but has no eligible calving events in that scheme year.

Eligibility is limited to farm businesses receiving the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment in 2025 and the Farm Sustainability Payment from 2026 onwards.

Applicants will receive confirmation through DAERA messaging once their opt-in is complete.

The Suckler Cow Scheme is digital only and uses the same online portal as the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme.

DAERA said full scheme details, including animal and calving event eligibility criteria, are available on its website.