No sooner have requirements for one programme been met, than another is right around the corner!
The next few days see some critical deadlines to be met for the SCEP Scheme:
October 31st 2025 – You must have genotyped the 65% of your yearly reference number of eligible females that are 4 or 5 stars on the Replacement Index. The Mart Tracker allows potential clients for females to filter by SCEP eligibility, within or across breed and at least 16 months old on October 31st.
November 1st 2025 – Deadline for submitting all SCEP weight data to the ICBF;
Calves must not be weaned and they need to be weighed with their mother on the same day on the farm. Calf weights being submitted must be from calves that are eligible for the scheme, in the ownership and possession of the applicant since birth, maintained on the holding at all times since birth and a minimum of 50 days old.
If a calf (or the mother) dies before the age of 5 months, this must recorded on AIM and these animals do not count towards the 80% of eligible animals to be weighed. Calves must be alive at the time of weighing.
Don’t forget that the weights should be submitted within 7 days of weighing – and if you got a new scales, it must be registered with the ICBF. Online or electronic weight recording must be recorded in the ICBF database by 5:30pm on November 1st and if you are sending them in by post, the forms must be received by the ICBF by 5:30pm on November 1st.
If you need to get a service to weigh cattle for you, or to hire a weigh scales, the ICBF provides handy lists of all the approved private providers of weighing services and scales and you can find them here – https://www.icbf.com/the-weighing-scheme/.