Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

Apart from the benefits the programme brings to individual farmer applicants, it is also intended to build a national asset, namely, a database of the genetic resources, maintained by the ICBF. We follow the progress with quite a degree of rigour. I do not have the specific figures in front of me but we certainly see higher rates of fertility among participating herds, earlier calvings and heavier weights at weaning for fewer inputs. Those objectives are being measured scrupulously. The expectation was that it would lead to a 12% overall reduction in emissions from the beef herd, based on a static population, which looks like it will be delivered. We will pursue the progress rigorously.

There was a degree of controversy over the programme containing obligations that ran over five years. The view of the Commission, which was legitimate, was that to do something for the environment, a once-off action would not deliver much and that there should be an evolving programme with a series of commitments from farmers. There has been substantial interest in the programme and approximately 20,000 farmers are involved in it. One of the advantages is that the benefits of the programme do not rest only with the herd but filter out to the wider population. All the benefits such as earlier calving, higher fertility and increased efficiency are beginning to filter out to other herds that were not part of the programme.