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Following pressure from NFU Scotland, we have now secured further guidance as to how force majeure and an appeals process could be applied to new Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) writes NFU Scotland Livestock Chair Hugh Fraser.
This includes examples of how the impact of bull failure or disease breakdown on the new scheme condition around calving interval and a business’ claim to the scheme would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Hugh writes: “We have been clear since the announcement that the calf scheme was to be reformed that we wanted to see a process enabling an individual to present evidence highlighting that, despite their due diligence and good practice, they were subject to abnormal and unforeseen circumstances out with their control. And these circumstances impacted on their ability to comply with the new conditionality in the calf scheme.
“The updated guidance provides illustrative examples of a force majeure process and what the detail required could look like.
“This is not an exhaustive list of exceptional circumstances, and we do have confirmation that each individual call for force majeure to be taken into consideration will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
“It is important to highlight that these are just examples. In real terms, failure to comply with the calving interval conditionality will need to be at a large scale given the significant amount of evidence and information required by a farmer or crofter to gather. This will then be tested against objective and subjective measures to assess if it qualifies for an exemption.
“This could be evidence of fertility testing, scanning of cattle, evidence of TB test, previous herd performance or personal information regarding to health issues. Given the depth of detail required by Scottish Government to consider an exemption, we must be realistic and acknowledge that this is not going to be a silver bullet. It does however address the examples we provided to Scottish Government, notably bull failure and disease breakdown, as part of our lobbying efforts related to SSBSS.
“While it is reassuring to have this information, we cannot forget that any investigation undertaken by RPID staff could delay the payments for the whole scheme, in light of how the budget is spent, payment rates are calculated by dividing the total budget by the number of eligible calves. If you can, consider submitting your calf scheme claim as soon as possible, particularly if you are finished calving for this year already. This means that the verification process can begin, reducing the bottle neck at the end of the year.”
The changes to SSBSS come into force for the 2025 scheme year, meaning any calves claimed from 2025 onwards need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- At least 75% beef genetics,
- Be held on the holding of birth for at least 30 days,
- Its dam must have a calving interval of 410 days or less (heifers will not be subject to this condition)
The calving interval will be applied on an individual cow basis, not a herd average. You can look at your herd’s overall performance and individual dam’s calving intervals through MyHerdStats accessed through ScotMoves+.
There will be no penalty for any calf submitted who does not meet the 410-day interval, meaning you can submit as per the usual process, RPID will cross reference the claim with ScotEID data to assess the dam’s calving interval as well as any moves. If you believe you fulfil the criteria for an exemption, you may wish to submit the necessary evidence with your claim to streamline the process. As noted above, submitting you claims for calves as soon as you can in any scheme year helps the validation process.
Hugh adds: “The purpose and objective of the reform is to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. Improving productivity and profitability by increasing the ratio of calves born can only be in our interest and as a result, by reducing emissions intensity, this is in the public interest, justifying our fight to keep SSBSS until at least 2028 with a full ring-fenced £40 million budget.
“Furthermore, we have lobbied hard to retain how the budget is spent especially with reference to the specific needs of our islands. Having now secured this pragmatic approach to force majeure and exceptional circumstances; we now have a scheme that can deliver on many fronts. While change is difficult, we must keep pace and show leadership to drive the industry forward.”