Kilkenny farmers urged to apply for €100 million scheme

BY COLIN BARTLEY

KILKENNY’S beef farmers are being urged to apply for emergency funding under the €100 million the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM).

Applications open from next Monday and Kilkenny’s Junior Minister, John Paul Phelan, TD is encouraging farmers to get involved in the scheme.

“The prolonged period of depressed prices and ongoing uncertainty surrounding the outcome of Brexit, has led to a difficult period of market disturbance,” Minister Phelan said.

“The BEAM, coupled with the Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP), introduced earlier this year, provides an injection of up to €120m in aid for the beef sector in 2019.”

“This scheme has been designed to make the application process as user-friendly and accessible as possible for farmers.

Applications are accepted online only through AgFood.ie.

The scheme is co-funded funded by the EU exceptional aid fund and Government support, in light of the difficult circumstances that Irish beef farmers have been facing as a result of market volatility and uncertainty arising out of Brexit.

BEAM will open for applications from Monday, 19th August to Sunday, 8th September.