Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has announced the opening of a new €6 million On-Farm Badger Biosecurity Scheme aimed at helping farmers reduce the risk of bovine TB spreading between badgers and cattle.
The scheme is part of the Government’s wider Bovine TB Action Plan, published in September 2025, and is intended to support farmers with the cost of practical biosecurity measures on farms. Applications opened on 13 May 2026 and will be accepted until 31 May 2026.
Under the scheme, eligible farmers will be able to buy fencing materials to fence off badger setts and prevent cattle from accessing the area around sett openings. They will also be able to buy eligible water troughs and feed troughs designed to reduce badger access. Purchases must be made through approved participating co-operatives and agri-retail merchants.
The Department said approved applicants will receive an approval letter after their eligibility has been checked. Farmers will then be able to purchase eligible materials between 1 July and 31 August 2026 by presenting that approval letter to a participating co-op or agri-merchant.
The scheme provides grant aid at a rate of 40 percent of eligible expenditure, up to a maximum eligible spend of €2,000 excluding VAT. This means the maximum grant payable is €800 excluding VAT. The minimum investment eligible for approval is €500 excluding VAT per herdowner.
Participation is capped at 7,500 farmers and is subject to eligibility requirements. To qualify, an applicant must have submitted a Basic Income Support for Sustainability application in 2025 and must have bovine livestock on their holding in 2026 at the time of application. Applications will only be accepted by email to the Department.
Announcing the scheme, Mr Heydon said it would help farmers reduce the risk posed by badgers in the spread of bovine TB by assisting with the cost of improving on-farm badger biosecurity. He said the measure delivers on a commitment in the Bovine TB Action Plan under the heading “Reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bTB.”
The Minister said the action plan is designed to tackle the three main ways in which bovine TB spreads: movement of infected cattle, recurrence of residual infection in herds with previous outbreaks, and infected badgers. He said measures had been taken across each of those areas as part of an effort to reduce disease levels and the number of farm families affected by outbreaks.
The new scheme is linked specifically to Action 2.6 of the Bovine TB Action Plan, which commits to supporting improvements in on-farm badger biosecurity. The Department says the objective is to help farmers take a proactive farm-based response to the risk posed by badgers in the spread of bovine TB.
Bovine TB remains one of the most persistent animal health issues that are being faced by Irish farming. When the action plan was published in September 2025, the Department said disease levels had risen significantly in recent years, with more than 6,000 farm families affected by a bovine TB outbreak in 2024. It said herd incidence had increased from 4.31 percent in 2002 to 6.04 percent in 2024.
More recent Department statistics show that, on a rolling 12-month basis, herd incidence stood at 5.51 percent as of 29 March 2026, with 36,219 reactors recorded. Reactor numbers refer to animals that test positive or are otherwise identified for removal under the TB programme.
The September 2025 action plan set out five measures and 30 actions. These are to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free, reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of the disease, detect and eliminate infection as early as possible in herds with a breakdown, help farmers improve on-farm biosecurity, and reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB.
The Department has said the plan targets both wildlife-to-cattle and cattle-to-cattle transmission, focusing on the areas where disease risk is highest. The new badger biosecurity scheme is one of the more practical farm-level measures within that wider programme.
Good on-farm badger biosecurity is intended to reduce contact between cattle and badgers, or between cattle and areas used by badgers. The Department’s farmer support page says the scheme will facilitate fencing off badger setts and installing suitable water and feeding troughs.
The focus on troughs is significant because shared access to feed or water points can create opportunities for disease transmission. The scheme is therefore aimed not at removing wildlife from farms, but at reducing risky points of contact between cattle and badgers.
The Department’s wider TB programme already includes financial supports for farmers affected by restrictions and outbreaks. These include the On Farm Market Valuation Scheme, Income Supplement, Depopulation Grant and Hardship Grant. The badger biosecurity scheme differs from those supports because it is preventive rather than compensatory. It is designed to reduce risk before a breakdown occurs or to support better biosecurity where risk is known.
For farmers, the practical value of the scheme will depend on whether the available grant support is sufficient to make meaningful changes on holdings where badger activity is a concern. The maximum grant of €800 may help with targeted measures, but farms with larger or more complex risk areas may still face additional costs.
The short application window is also important. Applications are open for just over two weeks from 13 May to 31 May 2026. Farmers who want to participate will need to check the terms and conditions, confirm eligibility, and apply within that period.
The Department has directed farmers to the bovine TB website and to the leaflet issued by post, which includes a QR code linking to the scheme information. It has also said the current list of participating co-operatives and agri-retail merchants is available on the Department’s website, with more merchants expected to join.
The scheme comes at a time when bovine TB remains both an economic and emotional issue for farmers. Outbreaks can lead to movement restrictions, removal of reactor animals, additional testing, uncertainty over herd management and financial pressure. The Department has previously acknowledged that bovine TB causes stress not only for farmers directly experiencing a breakdown, but also for farmers concerned about future outbreaks.
The policy challenge is that bovine TB control requires action across several routes of transmission. Wildlife is one element, but not the only one. The Government’s action plan also identifies cattle movement, residual infection and high-risk animals as part of the disease picture. That means the badger biosecurity scheme is unlikely to be sufficient on its own, but it forms part of a wider package of controls.
For farm families, the announcement provides a targeted support for practical biosecurity work. For the Department, it is an early test of whether the 2025 action plan can be translated into measures that farmers can use on the ground. For the wider agricultural sector, it reflects the continuing pressure to reduce bovine TB levels after several years of elevated incidence.
The scheme is now open, with applications closing on 31 May 2026. Eligible purchases can be made between 1 July and 31 August 2026 once approval has been issued by the Department.
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