merrion street

Minister Coveney today announced the rollout of general training to all BDGP Participants. He said that “the training aspect of the BDGP is a critical element of the Programme and will provide clear information to farmers with regard to the requirements at individual farm level”.

He added that “the course will equip farmers with the knowledge and skills necessary to optimise delivery of the commitments undertaken under the Programme. The course will also increase the participants’ knowledge of genomics and breeding selection, focusing on the shifting emphasis to maternal traits in order to bring about efficiencies that will result in reduced green house gas emissions”.

Following an open competitive tender process run by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine the general BDGP training contract was awarded to Teagasc. Courses will be rolled out across the country commencing on Monday the 21st March and all BDGP participants will be invited to attend in the coming months.

He pointed out that “it is important the participants respond to the invitation when received and notify Teagasc of their attendance using the notification system set out in the invitation”.

Recognising the nature of the suckler industry Minister Coveney indicated that “in the event that the BDGP participant cannot attend it will be possible to nominate somebody to attend on their behalf”. Finally Minister Coveney highlighted the fact that “the cost of training will be covered separately under the Rural Development Programme with farmers receiving €166 in addition to their annual scheme payments for successful completion of the course”.



Note to Editors:
The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) forms a part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. It involves funding of €300 million over the six year programme and builds on the success of previous schemes including the €23 million Beef Genomics Scheme (BGS). The programme will place Ireland at the forefront of climate friendly agriculture and further the “Green” image of our beef production, which has served us well in high value markets around the world.

This General Training course is a mandatory element of the Programme and will be four hours long. Having attended participants will have a better understanding of:

· the different requirements within this programme to enable participants to maximise annual payment over the coming five years;
· how €urostar indexes for bulls, cows and heifers are produced and how they can be used to improve the performance of your suckler herd;
· genomics and the reasons why it will improve the accuracies of the €urostar indexes in your herd;
· what your options are for sourcing the replacement females that you will need for your herd over the coming years to meet the programme requirements.

It would be preferable if participants attend the first course that they are invited to as subsequent courses may be held at a less convenient location.

ENDS