ICSA Connaught Ulster vice president John Barron has expressed alarm at proposed changes to the TB regime arising from the need to facilitate the slaughter of cattle that are over 12 months since their last TB test. "The new proposals to permit the slaughter of animals that are between 12-18 months since their last TB [...]
Irish suckler producer Denis Large may have severely reduced his vet bills and got a tight handle on his costs, but without a change to the beef pricing structure in Ireland many producers, including himself, could be in trouble once subsidies fade out. "Believe me, I'm not a lover of farmers getting on their soap [...]
Irish minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Brendan Smith has announced a fresh cash injection into the Irish cattle and sheep breeding sector worth €1.08m. Around €880,000 will be invested into the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and an additional €200,000 will be pumped into Sheep Ireland, which is a newly established association linked with [...]
Following a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith, the IFA Deputy President Derek Deane said the commitment given to him by the Minister Smith to provide real competition in the area of animal collection must be delivered on immediately. It is unjustifiable for farmers to be charged more to haul fallen animals than the [...]
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr Brendan Smith TD today formally launched Animal Health Ireland (AHI), which aims to improve overall animal health standards and thereby secure improved profitability for farmers and international competitiveness of livestock products through a coordinated national approach to animal health. Minister Smith said that today's launch represented the [...]
After one of the wettest years in living memory leaving land saturated and flooded in some areas there is still no end to the regular downpours in sight. Most heavy cattle are already housed and indeed some on farms with heavy soils have been housed since September. We can normally expect rain storms as we [...]
Short of winter feed? What do you do? You have several options open to you, but before you decide to do anything, cost all your options carefully. For instance, if maize is for sale in the next parish, should you go out and buy 10ac of it? Last week, one such crop of maize, grown [...]
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, today confirmed a further extension of the period for the spreading of livestock manure, which includes both farmyard manure and slurry. Minister Smith said that following consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley TD, farmers will now be allowed [...]
FROM the Nitrates Regulation point of view all livestock farmers should farm at less than, or equal to 170 Kilos of Organic N per hectare. A cow (irrespective of her weight or age is deemed to produce 85 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen (N) in a year (12 months). If you are farming at two cows [...]
This extravagant wastefulness of oil has brought us to something approaching a crunch point. Since the American invasion of Iraq, oil prices have soared, hovering around the $100 a barrel level instead of the previous $30 benchmark. Everything that relied on cheap oil has now begun to feel the pinch. The competition for resources has [...]
