Am I eligible for SC Scheme

To be eligible for a Scheme payment you must have:

1. An eligible farm business in the relevant Scheme year,
2. An eligible animal that has had an eligible calving event in the relevant Scheme year and
3. Opted in to the Scheme

Business Eligibility

To be eligible for the Scheme, a farm business must have:

• Claimed and be eligible for payment under the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment (FSTP) Scheme in 2025 to receive a payment for Suckler Cow Scheme year 1;
• Claimed and be eligible for payment under the Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) Scheme in 2026 to receive a payment for Suckler Cow Scheme year 2;
• Claimed and be eligible for payment under the Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) Scheme in 2027 to receive a payment for Suckler Cow Scheme year 3;
• Claimed and be eligible for payment under the Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) Scheme in 2028 to receive a payment for Suckler Cow Scheme year 4.

Animal Eligibility

1. Eligible calving events require that cows and heifers:
   • Are of an eligible beef breed (see relevant section on main menu);
   • Are the recipient cow in the case of embryo transfer, i.e. it is the calving event of the animal that gives birth that is eligible for payment. Calving events of donor animals are not eligible for payment.
   • Are registered on NIFAIS to an ordinary herd i.e., a 6-digit herd number (except herd 699999); and

   • Do not have any of the Identification, Registration and Movement (IRM) or disease statuses outlined in Table 1 below.

     Table 1 - Identification, Registration and Movement and disease statuses that are ineligible for Age at First Calving and/or Calving Interval

     Status	Cattle that are ineligible for Age at First Calving	Cattle that are ineligible for Calving Interval
     DOBQ  – Date of birth Query	Heifers and/or calves	Calves
     VDF – Valid Dam Failure	Calves	Calves
     IDU – Identity Unknown	Heifers and/or calves	Cows and/or calves
     BVDU – BVD Unknown	Calves	Calves

2. Eligible calving events require that calves:
   • Are either born live or aborted or stillborn and are tagged, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) tested and registered on NIFAIS.  For the purposes of this Scheme, a live calf means a calf that remains alive for at least 24 hours.  An aborted or stillborn calf means a bovine foetus or calf born dead or which dies within 24 hours of birth;
   • Are born within the age at first calving or calving interval yearly Scheme target;
   • Are registered to an ordinary herd i.e., a 6-digit herd number (except herd 699999); and
   • Do not have any of the Identification, Registration and Movement (IRM) or disease statuses outlined in Table 1 above.

3. Calving events resulting in multiple births

   Where a calving event results in multiple births and the calves have the same date of birth, one payment will be made provided at least one of the calves meets the eligibility requirements, irrespective of the number of calves born.

   Each distinct calving event date recorded on NIFAIS to an individual heifer/cow, will be considered as a unique calving event.  For the purposes of this Scheme, a new calving interval will commence the day after each unique calving event.

   Example 1 - Multiple birth – Twins born on consecutive days

   In the case of twins, where calf 1 is registered on NIFAIS with a DOB 01/04/2025 and calf 2 is registered on NIFAIS with a DOB 02/04/2025 both from the same heifer/cow.  These will be considered as two unique calving events. The second calving event will be ineligible as it does not meet the calving interval target.

   Example 2 - Multiple birth – 14 days apart

   Similarly, where calf 1 is registered on NIFAIS with a DOB 01/04/2025 and calf 2 is registered on NIFAIS with a DOB 15/04/2025, both from the same heifer/cow. These will be considered as two unique calving events. The second calving event will be ineligible as it does not meet the calving interval target.

4. Additional rules for calving events with aborted/stillborn calves (where a single or multiple birth calving event does not produce a live calf)

   The number of calving events where only aborted/stillborn calves are produced, and where payment will be made (if all other eligibility criteria are met) will be limited to a maximum of two per cow for the lifetime of the cow, from Scheme commencement (1 April 2025).

   Aborted/Stillborn calves must be notified to NIFAIS to ensure that subsequent calving intervals can be calculated.

   Example 3 - Aborted/Stillborn calving events

   If a heifer produces an aborted/stillborn calf within the Scheme year Age at First Calving target and all other eligibility criteria are met, payment will be made.  This will be considered her first aborted/stillborn calf.

   If, on the second calving event, an aborted/stillborn calf is produced within the Scheme year Calving Interval target, and all other eligibility criteria are met, payment will be made. This will be considered her second aborted/stillborn calf.

   If, on the third calving event, an aborted/stillborn calf is produced within the Scheme year Calving Interval target, payment will not be made even if all other eligibility criteria are met.  Although this calving event will not trigger payment, the date of calving will be used to calculate the next calving interval.  If a subsequent calving event produces a live calf within the Scheme year target and all other eligibility criteria are met, payment will be made.

5. Calving events of Imported cattle

   The calving event of a heifer imported from GB/ROI will be eligible provided the heifer is registered on NIFAIS at the time of the calving event; the calving event is registered on NIFAIS and all other Scheme eligibility criteria are met.

   The calving event of a suckler cow that was imported from GB/ROI and that has had a calving event in NI prior to the commencement of the Scheme will be eligible for payment, provided the suckler cow is registered on NIFAIS, the previous and current calving events are registered on NIFAIS and all other Scheme eligibility criteria are met.

   The calving event of a suckler cow imported from GB/ROI that has not had a calving event in NI prior to the commencement of the scheme will not be eligible for payment as the calving interval cannot be calculated.  However, this calving event will be used for the purposes of calculating the next calving interval provided the suckler cow is registered on NIFAIS. Second and subsequent calving events that are registered on NIFAIS will be eligible for payment provided all other Scheme eligibility criteria are met.

Age at First Calving

An Age at First Calving (AFC) payment will be made in respect of each eligible heifer’s first calving event where the heifer is:

• At least 21 months old at the time its calf is born, and

• Not more than the maximum age for the relevant Scheme year at the time its calf is born as shown in months in Table 2.

  Table 2 - Maximum Age at First Calving Scheme targets

  Year of Scheme	Duration	Maximum AFC
  1	1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026	34 months
  2	1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027	32 months
  3	1 April 2027 – 31 March 2028	30 months
  4	1 April 2028 – 31 March 2029	29 months

  Age at first calving is defined as the number of calendar months starting from the day a heifer is born and ending on the day the first calf is born as recorded on NIFAIS.

  We will use data recorded on NIFAIS for all calving events to determine eligibility for Age at First Calving.

Age at First Calving Examples – Scheme year 1 (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026)

In Scheme year 1, a heifer must be aged between 21 months and 34 months when its calf is born.  This means the calving event of a heifer that is less than 21 months or more than 34 months old at the time of its calving event will not be eligible in 2025 - 2026.

Example 4 - Heifer is less than 21 months old at date of calving event

Heifer date of birth: 26/07/2023.  Date of first calving event = 25/04/2025.  Animal is 20 months and 30 days, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible.

Example 5 - Heifer is between 21 months and 34 months old at date of calving event

Heifer date of birth: 25/12/2022.  Date of first calving event = 25/04/2025. Animal is 28 months old, therefore the calving event is eligible.

Example 6 - Heifer is more than 34 months old at date of calving event

Heifer date of birth: 25/12/2022.  Date of first calving event = 26/10/2025. Animal is 34 months and 1 day old, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible.

Age at First Calving Examples Scheme year 2 (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027)

In Scheme year 2, the maximum age at first calving will reduce, meaning a heifer must be aged between 21 months and 32 months when its calf is born.  This means the calving event of a heifer that is less than 21 months and/or more than 32 months old when its calf is born will not be eligible in 2026 - 2027.

Example 7 - Heifer is between 21 months and 32 months old at date of calving event

Heifer’s date of birth: 15/08/2023.  Date of first calving event = 15/04/2026. Animal is 32 months old, therefore the calving event is eligible.

Example 8 - Heifer is more than 32 months old at date of calving event

Heifer’s date of birth: 15/08/2023.  Date of first calving event = 16/04/2026. Animal is 32 months and 1 day old, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible.

Calving Interval

A Calving Interval (CI) payment will be made in respect of each eligible cow’s second or subsequent calving event that is:

• At least 271 days after the previous calving event, and

• Not more than the maximum number of days after the previous calving event for the relevant Scheme year as shown in Table 3.

  Table 3 - Maximum Calving Interval Scheme targets

  Year of Scheme	Duration	Maximum CI
  1	1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026	415 days
  2	1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027	405 days
  3	1 April 2027 – 31 March 2028	395 days
  4	1 April 2028 – 31 March 2029	385 days

  An eligible calving interval is defined as the number of days starting from the day after a calf is born and ending on the day a subsequent calf is born to the same cow as recorded on NIFAIS.

  We will use the data recorded on NIFAIS for all calving events to determine eligibility for Calving Interval.

Calving Interval Scheme Year 1 (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026)

In Scheme year 1, the calving interval must be between 271 days and 415 days.  This means calving intervals of 0 – 270 days and 416 days or more, will not be eligible in Scheme year 1.

Example 9 – Calving Interval less than 271 days

Date of birth of previous calf: 06/07/2024.  Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 01/04/2025. Calving Interval in days 269, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible as it is not at least 271 days.

Example 10 – Calving Interval 271 days

Date of birth of previous calf: 04/07/2024.  Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 01/04/2025. Calving Interval in days 271, therefore the calving event is eligible as it is between 271 and 415 days.

Example 11 – Calving Interval greater than 415 days

Date of birth of previous calving event: 10/08/2024. Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 30/09/2025. Calving Interval in days 416, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible as it is more than the maximum CI, 415 days, for the Scheme Year. 

Calving Interval Scheme Year 2 (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027)

In Scheme year 2, the calving interval must be between 271 days and 405 days.  This means calving intervals of 0 – 270 days and 406 days or more will not be eligible in Scheme year 2.

Example 12 – Calving Interval less than 271 days

Date of birth of previous calf: 06/07/2025.  Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 01/04/2026. Calving Interval in days 269, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible as it is not at least 271 days.

Example 13 – Calving Interval 271 days

Date of birth of previous calf: 04/07/2025.  Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 01/04/2026. Calving Interval in days 271, therefore the calving event is eligible as it is between 271 and 415 days.

Example 14 - Calving Interval greater than 405 days

Date of birth of previous calving event: 15/07/2025. Date of birth of calf born in Scheme Year: 29/08/2026. Calving Interval in days 410, therefore the calving event is NOT eligible as it is more than the maximum CI, 405 days, for the Scheme Year. 

Where a calving event is ineligible in any Scheme year, it will not be eligible for payment. However, this calving event will be used for the purposes of calculating the subsequent calving interval.  If an ineligible calving event is followed by a subsequent eligible calving event, payment will be made.