Longford Council motion calls for fairness in SCEP administration

Longford County Council will write to the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine to ensure entrants to the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) are not penalised by changes to the cow indexes. SCEP is a five year programme, running up to the end of 2027.

At the time of application farmers with suckler cows prior to 2021 were given a three year average reference value and selected their best three years. Crucial to the reference is the farmer's Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)index. The Index is overseen by the ICBF, a non-profit organisation charged with providing cattle breeding information services to the Irish dairy and beef industries.

Cllr Paul Ross said it is essential those who entered the scheme in good faith prior to the ICBF changes to the replacement and terminal cow index are allowed keep the cow indexes their animals had when entering the scheme.

“This will ensure that all those who entered the five year scheme will be able toremain in this important scheme which was designed to improve the environmental sustainability of the national herd,” the Fine Gael elected representative said.
Cllr Ross has called on Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue, to ensure suckler farmers who entered the SCEP scheme early last year are penalised by ICBF changes in the beef cow indexes announced in November 2023. He said those changes are skewed towards dairy animal rather than the more common continental breeding suckler cow. The scheme is designed to improve farmers' carbon footprint and improve efficiency on suckler farms.

Cllr Ross stated that farmers entered this five year scheme in good faith and change in cow ratings introduced six months after farmers entry have left farmers upset and worried about meeting future targets.

At the Longford County Council meeting, Cllr Ross said: “If a farmer had five star cows when he entered the scheme, this rating should last the duration of the scheme. Many farmers breeding top quality animals find their cowherd is downgraded by the changes. They find it unfair that the rules of the scheme have effectively been changed.”

Cllr Ross said the scheme is designed to ensure that farmers are doing their bit to prevent climate change and take a responsible approach to farming their land: “With over 15,000 farmers in the scheme it has been a huge success, but common sense will have to prevail to ensure that all those who entered the scheme are allowed to stay in it,” he concluded. The motion was unanimously passed and a letter will be sent to the Minister.