Galway has highest number of applications to new suckler farmer pilot scheme

Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway has the highest number of applications to a national pilot scheme aimed at suckler farmers.

The Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot - or BEEP - offers targeted support for the suckler sector, providing €40 per eligible calf.

Nationally, there have been 18,600 applications to the new scheme, over 2,000 of which were made by Galway farmers.

Galway East Junior Minister Ciaran Cannon says national farm data suggests that suckler farmers now receive around €500 per cow from combined schemes.

Fine Gael Minister Cannon says the uptake in the latest BEEP scheme shows the importance of the suckler sector.