ICSA Beef chair Sean Sherman has said the 2026 National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS) must be backed by sufficient funding to ensure all eligible calves are paid for in full, following last year’s cuts due to oversubscription. “Farmers were told they would be paid on up to 50 calves under this scheme in 2025, but after completing the work, that figure was cut back to just 31. That is not acceptable and it cannot be allowed to happen again,” he said.

Continuing, Mr Sherman said, “It is very concerning that the scheme has reopened for 2026 on an unchanged basis, with no additional funding, despite what happened last year. Minister Heydon knows this scheme was oversubscribed, yet it is going ahead again with the same budget. Farmers need to know in advance what they will be paid, not find out afterwards.”

 In addition, Mr Sherman said there is likely to be even greater demand for the scheme this year. “More farmers are under pressure from rising costs and tighter margins, and many are turning to dairy-beef systems as a lower-cost option. That means more calves are likely to be entered into the scheme in 2026, which increases the risk of it being oversubscribed again.”

 “Oversubscription should not be used as an excuse to cut payments after the work is done. If the Department knew demand exceeded the budget last year, then the obvious step was to increase the funding. Instead, farmers are being asked to sign up again without any certainty on payment.”

 Concluding, Mr Sherman said, “Farmers are already under pressure with the day-to-day workload on farms, and any task required under a scheme like this must be paid for in full. It is only fair that they are paid for the calves they submit, up to the maximum of 50. Without that guarantee, all of the risk is being placed on the farmer, with no certainty on payment.”