Call for English beef calf scheme

In a letter to Defra secretary Daniel Zeichner, NBA chief executive Neil Shand proposed re-allocating some of the £358m underspend within Defra’s budget. Shand’s primary request is for England to establish a beef calf payment scheme for three-quarter bred suckler beef calves. The proposed scheme would pay £100 per calf on lowland farms and £160 on upland farms. Based on England’s suckler herd of 665,000 cows and a 90% compliance rate, the scheme’s estimated cost would be approximately £60m per year.

Shand suggested that ‘three years would give a fair period of time to assess the impact of the scheme – if the decline in herd numbers had slowed or even ceased, the support could be reviewed’. He also noted that Scotland’s similar system has been running for the past 20 years, during which the reduction in suckler cow numbers has been significantly slower than in England.

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In addition, Shand is calling for a more dramatic approach to tackling bovine TB in England. He advocates for an additional £50m per year to be invested in proven techniques, such as gamma testing, to identify deep-rooted disease on farms. The letter highlights that bovine TB has cost taxpayers £100m per year for the past decade, with ‘currently no end in sight’.

A Defra spokesperson said:

“Bovine tuberculosis has devastated British farmers and wildlife for far too long. It has placed dreadful hardship and stress on farmers who continue to suffer the loss of valued herds.

“That is why are working at pace in rolling out a TB eradication package – working alongside farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists – to stop the spread of this horrific disease. This will include boosting cattle testing and reducing the spread of disease through cattle movements.”

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