BVD testing support increased to €3.50/calf

Financial support for farmers to help assist Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) testing has increased on 2024 levels.

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced that for 2025, a flat rate of €3.50/calf will apply. This is an increase on the €2.40/head paid last year.

This is available up to a maximum of 25 calves on a holding, which has remained the same since 2024.

After Ireland reduced the incidence of BVD in 2024, Minister Heydon said that his Department is aiming to eradicate the disease.

“It is widely recognised that the final stages of any eradication programme are very challenging, with a population that is increasingly susceptible to the disease,” he said.

“That is why we must ensure that the efforts of all those in combating a disease which was costing farmers an estimated €102m/year in reduced productivity when this programme started, are not undermined as we move closer to the goal of the BVD programme.”

BVD-free status

BVD prevalence has reduced in breeding herds from 0.66% in 2013, the first year of the compulsory phase of the eradication programme, to 0.02% in 2024.

The Department said that this has delivered benefits to all cattle herds, and to society, including better animal health and improved fertility, which, has helped to reduce antimicrobial usage and contributes to a more sustainable livestock sector.

Minister Heydon also emphasised the importance of the collaborative approach taken in the success of the programme.

“The BVD model has been a novel one to deliver a national disease eradication programme,” he added.

“However, we know that disease outbreaks are a risk unless we maintain and improve our momentum. We cannot afford to slow our control measures if BVD free status is to be achieved.

“I would like to thank Animal Health Ireland and the industry’s BVD Implementation Group for their combined efforts over the course of the programme.”

Figures from Animal Health Ireland show that the number of calves with an initial BVD-positive or inconclusive result is running at over the twice the level for the corresponding period in 2024.

For the first 12 weeks of 2025, 212 calves had an initial positive or inconclusive result without a negative retest result.

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