Free advice · Northern Ireland

CAFRE Themed Groups (B.E.E.F. finishing and suckler cow fertility)

Open all year Farm schemes and payments

Short-term CAFRE groups with mentoring, peer learning and KPIs, linked to the Beef Carbon Reduction and Suckler Cow schemes.

From: CAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise), part of DAERA
How much: No charge stated.
Who can apply: Beef finishers (B.E.E.F. groups, launched 19 January 2026) and suckler herds (Suckler Cow Fertility group, launched 18 June 2025).

What you’ll need

DAERA Category 1 Farm Business ID

How to apply

Read the CAFRE themed group pages
Contact a local CAFRE adviser

Further themed groups are planned; dates not published.

Official page Check if it fits my farm

Similar schemes

Farming with Nature Higher Scheme 2027 OpenDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 30 October 2026Interim invite-only scheme to keep favourable management of high-value farmland in designated sites and priority habitats between agri-environment schemes.
Suckler Cow Scheme OpenDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 31 March 2027Payment for suckler calvings that meet targets for age at first calving and calving interval. Part of the Beef Sustainability Package.
Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) Scheme Open all yearDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Annual payment for clean beef cattle, born and bred in Northern Ireland and registered on NIFAIS, slaughtered at or below a falling maximum age. Part of the Beef Sustainability Package.
Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) 2027 Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 15 May 2027The second year of the Farm Sustainability Payment, claimed on the 2027 Single Application.
Farming with Nature Landscape Projects Scheme Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 4 December 2026Funding for groups of farmers and partners to deliver landscape-scale habitat and biodiversity projects that cannot be done on a single farm.
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Checked against the official pages on 29 October 2026. Sources: 1, 2. Always read the official page before you apply.