SAP Data Platforms
The SAP data platforms will provide information to help you to drive productivity, resilience, animal health and welfare, contribute to environmental goals and identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.
Soil Nutrient Health Scheme
The Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) was a groundbreaking scheme to assist farm businesses to plan their farm nutrient management more effectively, with the long-term aim of reducing agricultural impacts on water quality. This is one of the actions included in the Lough Neagh Action Plan. The Scheme represents an investment of up to £45million in our farming sector. The Scheme was rolled out across Northern Ireland on a zonal basis between 2022 and 2026. A final mop-up registration phase ran from Wednesday 5 August to midnight on Monday 7 September 2026 for eligible farm businesses that had not previously registered. Registration is now closed. Participation in the scheme has provided farm businesses with important information to help manage soil nutrients and farm carbon.
What does this mean for me?
The Scheme provided free soil sampling and analysis of all fields, maps of hotspots for nutrient runoff during rainfall events, an estimate of the amount of carbon stored in soils, hedgerows and trees and access to a bespoke SNHS training programme provided by CAFRE.
The significant benefits of the Scheme can help increase farm productivity and reduce the impact of agriculture on the water environment.
For farm businesses in operation on or before 8 September 2025, registering for the SNHS and completing the training is a conditionality for the Farm Sustainability Payment from 2026. To meet this requirement, farm businesses in this category must have registered for SNHS and completed the CAFRE training by 15 May 2027. If you haven’t done this by then, your FSP for 2027 will be reduced by 10%. If you still haven’t met the requirement after that, the reduction will increase to 15% and stay at that level until you take part.
What do I need to do now?
The final mop-up registration phase of the SNHS ran from Wednesday 5 August to midnight on Monday 7 September 2026 and is now closed.
Farm businesses that registered for the Scheme should complete the associated CAFRE training by 15 May 2027 to meet the Farm Sustainability Payment conditionality requirements.
SNHS on-line Nutrient Management training is available from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). You should complete this training as soon as possible after you receive your soil test results. Contact CAFRE at 02894 426926 or visit Soil Nutrient Health Scheme - CAFRE
For further information on the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme visit https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/topics/land-and-landscapes/soil
Bovine Genetics Project
What is it?
The Bovine Genetics Project aims to increase the rate of genetic gain and enhance the environmental and economic performance of dairy and beef animals. It provides farm businesses with the data and evidence to make more informed breeding decisions delivering more efficient, healthier and productive animals with lower carbon footprints. This data is accessible through a user portal which provides a data platform to establish baseline performance, identify opportunities for improvement, measure progress, and identify future research needs. The Project is being delivered by DAERA, in partnership with Sustainable Ruminant Genetics Ltd (SRG).
The data platform collects and analyses data from various sources, for example government bovine databases, meat and milk processors, and livestock markets. This data is used to provide farm businesses with a suite of benchmarking reports detailing Key Performance Indicators both at herd and individual animal level. These reports enable farmers to identify opportunities to improve enterprise performance and inform future breeding decisions. These reports are accessed on the Bovine Genetics Project User Portal via the SRG website (www.srgni.com).
An integral part of the Bovine Genetics Project is the Northern Ireland Bovine Genetics Genotyping Scheme. This Scheme has been developed to promote the uptake of genotyping bovine animals, via a tissue tag sample, by subsidising the cost of the process at £13 per eligible genotype. The Scheme opened on the 1st September 2026 and will end on the 15th May 2028. For more information on animal eligibility for the Scheme please refer to the Scheme rules and guidance.
CAFRE training is also available to farm businesses to enable them to effectively use the information which is available through the Project. Further details is available at www.cafre.ac.uk/bgp-training.
What does this mean for me?
Advancing genetic gain will help you improve overall farm productivity, reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, reduce pollution potential, and deliver long-term improved animal health and welfare benefits.
Participation in the Bovine Genetics Project is a conditionality for the Farm Sustainability Payment from 2026. If you keep cattle, you must register for the Bovine Genetics Project and complete the CAFRE training by 15 May 2028. If not, your FSP for 2028 will be reduced by 10%, increasing to 15% if you remain non‑compliant, and staying at that level until you complete the requirement.
What do I need to do now?
Registration for the Bovine Genetics Project and the Genotyping Scheme is now available. Farm businesses can register through the SRG user portal via the SRG website (www.srgni.com). Please note you will need your existing Government Gateway or Northern Ireland Civil Service Identity Assurance details to register. Once a farm business has registered with the Bovine Genetics Project, the associated training is available to complete online at www.cafre.ac.uk/bgp-training. Check the agricultural press, this webpage, the SRG webpage or social media channels regularly for further details and updates.
Further details about the scheme can be found in the documents below:
- Bovine Genetics Project Registration Terms and Conditions
- Bovine Genetics Project Privacy Notice
- Northern Ireland Bovine Genetics Genotyping Scheme Rules and Guidance
- Northern Ireland Bovine Genetics Genotyping Scheme Terms and Conditions
Carbon Footprinting Project
What is it?
Carbon Footprinting is an important action that farmers can undertake to measure the Greenhouse Gas emissions from their farm businesses and identify where improvements can be made at farm level.
DAERA is developing a farm Carbon Footprinting Project with industry to deliver a whole farm carbon footprint to all farm businesses in Northern Ireland in a standardised and consistent way.
The Project will be an important management tool to help farm businesses drive better environmental performance and sustainable practices. It will set a baseline from which to measure and evaluate progress in reducing emissions at individual farm business and farm enterprise level and across Northern Ireland. CAFRE training will be provided to farm businesses to help identify ways to reduce emissions.
What does this mean for me?
Completion of a carbon footprint of your farm business will help you identify where reductions in GHG emissions can be made.
Participation in the Carbon Footprinting Project is planned to be a conditionality for the Farm Sustainability Payment. It is planned that farm businesses will be required to register for the Project and complete the training when offered by CAFRE.
What do I need to do now?
Nothing at this point. Further information will be provided in due course. Check the agricultural press, this webpage or social media channels regularly for further details and updates.