economy
February 26, 2026
Subsidies for First-Calf Heifers Cause New Conflict: Farmers Losing Millions Due to Decree Limiting Subsidies to 20 Heads
Livestock breeders who were counting on 100,000 dinars per first-calf heifer this year were met with an unpleasant surprise – the state has limited the payment to 20 heads per farm without prior notice. While the Ministry claims that paying for all first-calf heifers would require an additional billion dinars which the budget lacks, some farmers argue they have been defrauded of millions of dinars.
TL;DR
- The Ministry of Agriculture has limited the payment of 100,000 dinars per first-calf heifer to 20 heads per farm.
- Farmers were not given prior notice of this change, leading to unexpected financial losses.
- The Ministry claims a budget deficit of one billion dinars would be required to pay for all first-calf heifers.
- The Committee for Agriculture in the Serbian Parliament has requested a change to the decree to remove the 20-head limit.
- Some farmers and politicians argue that the money is available but misallocated to other projects.
- A minority of farmers support the limit, believing it should help smaller farms and that large farms are greedy.
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