1.By way of derogation from Article 111(3) of this Regulation, Member States where more than 60 % of suckler cows and heifers are kept in mountain areas within the meaning of Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 may decide to manage the granting of the suckler cow premium for heifers separately from that for suckler cows within the limits of a separate national ceiling to be set up by the Member State concerned.
Such a separate national ceiling shall not exceed 40 % of the national ceiling of the Member State concerned set out in Article 112(5). That national ceiling shall be reduced by an amount equal to the separate national ceiling. Where, in a Member State making use of the option provided for in this paragraph, the total number of heifers, for which an application has been made, and which satisfy the conditions for granting the suckler cow premium, exceeds the separate national ceiling, the number of eligible heifers per farmer for the year in question shall be reduced proportionately.
2.For the purpose of this Article, only heifers belonging to a meat breed or born of a cross with a meat breed shall be taken into account.