Upcoming CAFRE dairy farm walks to highlight efficiency

A NUMBER of farm walks and meetings for dairy and beef farmers are being held by CAFRE.

The first two dairy farm walks (on ‘Efficient and Sustainable Milk Production’) will be held on Wednesday next, March 27, on the farms of Mark Patterson, Drumcroon Road, Garvagh, and James Murphy, Ballyreagh, Tempo.

Both walks will start at 11am and dairy farmers are invited to enrol for the events on the CAFRE website, at www.cafre.ac.uk/events.

During the meetings, CAFRE advisers and technologists will be outlining the current physical, financial, and environmental performance of the farms.

They will then identify key measures that already have or can be implemented to get the ‘dual benefits’ of improved profit and a better environment.

A series of meetings to explain the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme introduced on January 1 will be running across Northern Ireland from today (Thursday), March 21.

These will include Greenmount

Campus on Wednesday, March 27; Silver Birch Hotel, Omagh on Thursday, March 28; and Enniskillen Campus, on Tuesday, April 9.

The scheme objective is to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the carbon footprint of beef production by encouraging the slaughter of cattle at an earlier age.

The payment rate for the scheme has been set at £75 per eligible animal slaughtered from April 1, 2024 – December 31, 2027, with phased payments at the start of the scheme of £20 per eligible animal for January 2024, £40 for February 2024 and £60 for March 2024.

The series of BCR scheme information meetings have been organised by the CAFRE Knowledge Advisory Service to make farmers aware of the details of the scheme, the eligibility criteria and how to apply.

The meetings will also highlight steps farmers can take to ensure the maximum number of finished cattle meet the age at slaughter targets and at the same time reduce cost, increase profit and reduce their carbon footprint.