The Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme (DBWS) will reopen for new applicants tomorrow.
The DBWS has a budget of €25 million over four years (2024 – 2027) and is co-funded by the EU as part of the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP).
The scheme is a breeding measure providing support to dairy farmers to improve the animal health and welfare of the national dairy herd by using genetically superior beef sires for breeding dairy beef calves.
Participants are required to use AI straws or stock bulls with a minimum rating of three stars on the ICBF Dairy Beef Index (DBI) and on the beef sub-index of the DBI.
This is the third year of the scheme as part of the CAP Strategic Plan with payments of €5.98 million issuing to some 9,175 farmers in February 2026 who had eligible calves born between 01 January 2025 and 31 December 2025.
Applicants to the scheme in 2024 or 2025 do not need to reapply to the scheme as their application has automatically rolled over to 2026.
Details for the scheme application can be found on MyAgfood.ie
