SCEP or Sceptical

It’s easy money for us who are 100 percent AI. Don’t really have to worry about the stars and everything else takes care of it self really.

Surely the training day won't cost you anything? Normally get paid for these type of things for lads that miss out on a days work.

I didn't notice that 5 month criteria. That could catch a couple of lads out based on some of the age of weanlings you do see going through the mart in Oct & Nov.

Pity that they can't just use the sample when you tag for bvd & do 100% genotyping then. Save alot of hassle!!

I think that entering this scheme will spell the end of stock bulls on farms. To make the necessary steps to increase the star rating of stock it will require either high starred cows,or a high high star rated bull. This will put serous cost on the system to meet the requirements of the scheme.

The only real cost effective way is to be selective ai and culling. For most suckler farmers the thought of ai is a killer, from the time perspective, facilities, farm fragmentation and part time work. The only real means to achieving it and not having penalties on the payment, is either buy a super high starred bull, sync all breeding stock or invest in heat detection technology

If you genotyped a number of this years calves now as they are small, would that cover you for the scheme? As in they would be already done say by the summer when they send out the tags. Always find it harder to be doing them then rather as calves when they would be inside anyway.

With 30 cows it’s worth 4 1/2 grand. Don’t think I can afford to leave that behind me. Sickens me to have to get back into Bord Bia though.

Anyone know if you have signed up to this can you now sell weanlings? If i've signed up, can I record weights and then sell, even though the scheme is't up on ICBF yet, I can just manually put in weights under weight recording?

No wouldn't have been in last scheme, they would be august /sept calves, generally weigh the autumn calves in the spring before weining / selling and get the beep payment

I would check with the higher orders before you sell them. Be gutted to have got rid of them and you hadn’t weighed them etc.

I’d email the department for advice on what to do if they were mine. If you sell them there’s no way back then

I imagine you can sell away because they were not born during the upcoming scheme

From Ts & Cs.

 "Applicants are required to ensure that by the 31st October 2023 at least 50% of their yearly reference number are eligible females that are genotyped 4 or 5 stars on the replacement index (on a within breed or on across breed basis) at the time of purchase (for replacements brought into the herd) or at the time of genotyping (for those replacements bred within the herd)."

Does that disqualify non genotyped animals bought in and then genotyped 4 or 5* ? Surely not.

Also what's deducted for cost of genotyping?

But there simply isn't any alternative. The money has to be made somehow from the other schemes that are ending.

I'm not sure that's entirely correct, if the calves under 5 months don't qualify you just won't get paid for them. I don't see how someone could get penalized as well for that, I could be wrong though.

5 months there for a reason. Very skimpy calf coming off the cow at 4 months

Lose a cow? Bill to be paid?