Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced that the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme (BWS) will open this week for applications.

This year's scheme is very similar to last year’s version, but will also include an additional option to vaccinate animals against the current strain of the bluetongue virus (BTV-3).

It will pay farmers €35 per eligible calf for the mandatory meal feeding action up to a maximum of 45 calves. The other two optional actions will pay for vaccination of up to €15 per calf or €25 per calf for the faecal testing or forage testing action.

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The BWS supports farmers in meal feeding suckler calves at weaning and in undertaking other voluntary actions that optimise animal performance while allowing farmers to maximise their payments within the overall scheme allocation.

Eligibility

Suckler farmers with eligible calves born on their holdings between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 can apply for this scheme.

Applications must be lodged online through the MyAgFood portal by 5pm on Wednesday 23 September 2026, with no facility for late applications, allowing participants who have passed all the necessary validation checks to be paid before the end of the year.

“I encourage all eligible farmers to read the scheme terms and conditions and to submit their applications on time," the Minister said.

Records

Participants are reminded to retain copies of receipts for the meal feeding and for the vaccination and testing actions, if they choose those options, and to maintain relevant records and submit them on request to the Department to facilitate the efficient processing of scheme payments.

BWS participants should not select the optional faecal count action if they are also participating in the Parasite Control Consult programme under the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH).