Payments for the first year of the Suckler Cow Scheme commenced on 25 June 2026, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has confirmed.

A total of £13.3 million has been distributed to 98.6% of eligible farm businesses, covering 133,091 qualifying calving events. The scheme forms part of the Beef Sustainability Package under the broader Sustainable Agriculture Programme.

It is designed to encourage improved breeding management practices, with targets to reduce the age at first calving and shorten calving intervals over a four-year phased implementation period. In Year 1, 85% of eligible farm businesses opted in, and approximately 72% of calving events achieved the annual targets.

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said the strong uptake was encouraging. He noted that while the principal purpose of the scheme is to deliver environmental benefits, the payments would also provide important support to farm businesses in the current economic climate.

Payments will continue to be made to remaining farm businesses upon completion of validations. Year 2 of the scheme began on 1 April 2026, with tighter thresholds: a maximum age at first calving of 32 months and a maximum calving interval of 405 days.

Farm businesses that have not yet opted in can still do so for Year 2 until 31 March 2027. Once opted in, a business receives payment for eligible calving events each year without needing to reapply, provided all eligibility criteria are met. No penalties apply if a business opts in but has no eligible events during a scheme year.

Eligibility is limited to farm businesses receiving the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment in 2025 and the Farm Sustainability Payment from 2026 onwards. Each qualifying calving event receives £100, with a Northern Ireland-wide cap of 222,000 calving events per scheme year.