It is unjustifiable for farmers to be charged more to haul fallen animals than the rates applicable to similar live animals. Real competition is vital in this area and must be provided through utilisation hunts, kennels and direct delivery to rendering plants.

For remote areas the option of licensed on-farm burials must be made available.

Derek Deane said the cost of rendering fallen animals has been slashed over the last week through the use of rendering facilities in Northern Ireland. He said rendering charges are now in the range of €85 – €105 per tonne back from €180 per tonne just last week. These costs must be reduced further.

He said Northern Irish farmers are paying less than halve of what farmers here are being asked to pay.

With Irish knackeries and hauliers now availing of rendering in the North. Northern Irish farmers are currently getting calves collected for €14.60(£13.00) and 6-12 month old animals are being collected for €46.06 (£41.00).

The IFA Deputy President said the Minister is obligated to provide a cost effective infrastructure for the disposal of fallen animals and this must be provided immediately.

Minister Smith said that today's launch represented the results of extensive discussions held with the various industry stakeholders within the agri-food industry, in particular primary producers, food processors and service providers. He confirmed that from these discussions, it was clear there was a genuine commitment by all interested parties to work together on an initiative to address a range of animal health and related issues so as to enhance, in a co-ordinated way, the quality of Irish farm and processor outputs and improve animal health.

The initiative also gives effect to a commitment in the Programme for Government to introduce a Herd Health Initiative to deal with non-regulated diseases and conditions and is modelled on international examples of success in animal health, but adapted to Irish conditions. It will complement the existing animal health programmes for regulated diseases and focus on non-regulated animal health issues. While the initial focus is likely to be on bovine diseases such as Johnes, IBR, BVD, lameness, mastitis and infertility, the model can equally apply to issues affecting other species.

The Minister said that there was general agreement among stakeholders that a body – to be known as Animal Health Ireland – was needed to drive the initiative and that this body should be overseen by a Steering Group selected on the basis of competencies. In turn, that Group would be overseen by a Stakeholders Group comprising representatives of the organisations that among other things will be co-financing the initiative.

The Minister said that the health status of the national herd now and in the future will be a critical element in assisting farmers to add value to farm incomes and allowing Irish food products to remain competitive in a world trading environment. He added that he believed that "animal health and food safety will be critical contributors to international competitiveness both as a result of the impact – perceived or otherwise – of animal diseases on product quality and safety and also because of the special importance that animal health and food safety have in international trade. We have many examples of the actual and potential problems that arise from food safety issues including most recently from the dioxin issue. And of course, high animal health is a major contributor to optimal efficiency and profitability as farm level."

Minister Smith said that Animal Health Ireland will be driven and part-financed by industry with Government support. This approach represented a substantial departure from the classic current Government-led model to animal health and will require all stakeholders to engage in this new paradigm from non-traditional positions. What differentiated this initiative from others is the lead role that will be taken by the industry and the buy-in through firm financial commitments from the Stakeholder bodies without which this idea would not have got off the ground in the first instance. "We have now developed what I consider to be an innovative model in Animal Health Ireland where roles and responsibilities particularly the financial responsibilities are clear. Its success will depend on the willingness of all stakeholders to engage with each other from non-traditional positions in pursuit of common goals" the Minister said.

The Minister confirmed that his Department will meet some initial costs and will provide a small number of Executive staff to assist the interim Steering Group of AHI, the membership of which was announced in November last to manage Animal Health Ireland. The Minister also confirmed that the inaugural meeting of the Stakeholder Group comprising the founding stakeholders who have financed the initiative also took place today. This Group will now embark on developing and coordinating a national infrastructure that will enable industry at all levels to take appropriate and effective action in relation to non-regulated diseases.

The Animal Health Ireland initiative provides an opportunity to build on the significant resources and capabilities and expertise already available within a range of organisations. It also provides an opportunity for the dissemination of high-quality technical information, which will assist the decision-making process particularly for industry.

28 January, 2009

Notes for Editors
1. The Stakeholders Group includes representatives from the following:
An Bord Bia
Carbery Group
Connacht Gold
Dairygold
Glanbia
ICOS
ICBF
IFA
ICMSA
Kerry Group
Lakeland
Macra
Teagasc
Veterinary Ireland

2. The membership of the interim Steering Group is as follows:
Mike Magan (Chairman), Dairy Farmer
Gerard Brickley, An Bord Bia
Joe Collins, The Irish Dairy Board
Michael Doherty, UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine
Thia Hennessy, Teagasc
John O'Sullivan, Dairy Farmer,
Robin Talbot, Beef Farmer,

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 approach Hallowe'en but over the past few years the September/October period has been very kind, allowing for later and orderly housing of stock.

Housing on the same farms this year is occurring three to four weeks earlier; thus resulting in a higher requirement for winter feed, greater slurry storage space, higher machinery costs and a greater workload.

There is a good cover of grass on many farms that cannot be grazed and if left to the spring it will have decayed, causing thinning of the sward and slowing the early growth.

In normal conditions, fields would be grazed bare and about 50pc of the grassland area closed by now. And while there can be considerable growth up to the end of the year; we recommend that you would not be tempted to graze this off but rather to use it to allow an early turnout in spring.

However, in the case of heavy covers of 8cm or higher, you should try to graze it before the end of the year if/when an opportunity arises. At the same time, select other areas of the farm to target for early grass.

Housing priority animals

The heavier cattle to be slaughtered in spring, followed by the store cattle going to grass, should be the first for housing. Suckler cows are being housed earlier this year; firstly because it is the easiest way to wean them for the Welfare Scheme, and secondly due to the wet conditions. If there is even moderate grass and dry ground, there is no need to house them until later, as dry cows have only a maintenance feed requirement.

The last of the grass finished cattle will be coming to market in the next couple of weeks. The feeding value of grass is dropping fast, so they need 6-8kg meal per day to maintain gain at 1kg per day.

Unless there is very good grass, it would be better if these cattle were housed and then their meal gradually increased up to an ad lib level for final finishing.

On some of the more traditional farms, bullocks could be already at slaughter condition and owners are holding for a better price. Such cattle still need a few kg meal per day to maintain performance as the grass declines.

Weanlings are generally the last cattle to be housed because they are the lighter animals on land and can be kept healthier outdoors. Weanlings need 1-2kg of meal per day after weaning, while outdoors on good grass. If they are for immediate sale and have been eating a high amount of meal before weaning, they will need to continue to be fed at the same level to maintain condition, although this is likely to have been uneconomical.

On suckler finishing farms, where weaning may not have been done yet, there is a high risk of grass tetany in current conditions, so cows should be on a magnesium supplement. The most effective way to give magnesium is in a small amount of carrier, such as in a high magnesium nut, but it can also be fed in a home-made or commercially purchased molasses-based lick. Supplying it in the drinking water needs careful management as cows drink little water in wet weather. Magnesium bullets can also be used as per manufacturers' recommendations.

Housing management

Housing brings increased disease risk, the greatest being pneumonia. The current weather is damp and mild; leading to conditions of high humidity in cattle sheds. Effective ventilation is vital to get rid of excess moisture, disease organisms, dust and waste gases. Try to house cattle on a dry windy day if filling the house fully on one day. Make sure all slats are checked for cracks and chips as these can cause lameness. Clean and repair water troughs and pipes so that no excess water is adding to the slurry volume.

- Liam Fitzgerald

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 under plastic, was offered at €750/ac. Harvesting and transport costs were adding a further €140/ac.

So, the total cost of the acre of maize was €890. Add in polythene charges, and you will have very little change out of €900/ac. Does this represent good value for money? I will try and answer this, but I am afraid I have no idea of what the actual yield of fresh maize will be in the field. Several factors can affect the actual yield of maize (soil fertility, varieties, site, slope of site, date of sowing and soil type).

No guarantee

Also, what is the dry matter (DM) content of the maize, and what will the starch level be like? All these are seriously relevant questions, as they will affect the value of the maize… but nobody is going to give me a piece of paper, guaranteeing maize of a certain tonnage and quality.

So, where do I go from here? Well, the maize in question was sown under plastic, so this should guarantee a decent yield.

A decent yield to me is 16t DM/ha (6.47t DM/ac). This equates to 20t of fresh material/ac, assuming a crop DM of 32pc.

The problem with all forage crops is that you don't end up with that 20t going into the cow. You will have field losses, pit losses and feed out losses. These losses have been estimated at 14pc. This gives us a utilisation figure of 86pc.

So, how do I know the maize represents value for money? Would I not be better off going out and buying a mixture of barley and soya and making up the fodder shortage by feeding concentrates?

Let's say I value rolled barley today at €185/t and soya at €320/t, then the value of a tonne of utilised maize DM is €126/t. At 32pc DM, each tonne of maize is worth approximately €40. Now, at a yield of 20t of fresh material/ac, the value of the maize is €800/ac.

So, at €900/ac, our maize is too dear, and remember, I am talking about good quality maize at 32pc DM and 25pc starch.

Incidentally, instead of comparing maize to barley and soya bean, I could compare maize to buying an 18pc crude protein dairy ration costing €278. Looking at maize from this angle, the cost/t is increased to €48. So, our acre is now worth €960.

However, if I compare it to a ration costing €230/t, then the price of a tonne of fresh maize is reduced again to €40.

So, the price of forage maize is closely related to the cost of ingredients in the milling industry. The cheaper they become, the less value you can put on a tonne of fresh maize.

Ideally maize should only be fed to calved cows. If fed to animals, such as weanlings, it reduces the value of the maize further. And while maize is an excellent feed, forage maize has low protein percentage (6pc), so a maize balancer will be required.

What about the round bale of silage? What is its value? This is a question fraught with pitfalls. Good 72 DM density silage at 20pc DM is worth €27/bale, assuming each bale is 180kg of DM. And that's a good big bale. But, remember buying big bales of silage is like buying lucky bags, and as you know, they are full of surprises.

Critical

So, what are your options if you are short of fodder this winter? I know some stock can be sold to reduce demand, but if that is not an economic option, then I would recommend a three or four-way mix. For instance a three-way mix can be made up of 1/3 barley, 1/3 gluten and 1/3 distillers grains.

Ask your merchant for a price on this coarse ration and take it from there. The critical thing for you to do today, if you think you may be short of feed, is to measure what you have under plastic at present. If you can't do it yourself, give your Teagasc adviser a ring.

The next most critical thing to do is to feed all stock from the day they are housed. Don't wait until February to react.

By John Donworth. Irish Farming Independent

The Minister said that the decision to grant this further extension reflects the continuing poor weather which has proven completely unsuitable for spreading livestock manure since the original extension was granted earlier this month from 15th October. Minister Smith said he and Minister Gormley had previously acknowledged that the adverse weather conditions experienced in Ireland over recent months had caused significant hardship for farmers and had made it extremely difficult to carry out regular farming activity.

"We originally extended until today the period within which farmers could spread livestock manure and hoped that this would allow farmers the opportunity to complete landspreading activities that, for reasons beyond their control, had been curtailed due to the exceptional weather conditions we had experienced. Unfortunately, this has proven not to be the case, and given the weather conditions over the past fortnight, the original extension has proven totally inadequate and the justification that applied for an extension two weeks ago is equally applicable today", said the Minister.
Minister Smith expressed his appreciation to Minister Gormley for his support for an extension, and said "I am absolutely satisfied that there is a necessity to extend the period for landspreading, and I hope that this further extension will enable farmers to complete their landspreading activities over the next month."

As with the previous extension, Minister Smith reiterated that today's announcement represents an extension in time only. All landspreading activity is conditional on weather and ground conditions being suitable as set out in the Nitrates Regulations. Livestock manures or any fertilisers may not be landspread when, for example, land is waterlogged, flooded or likely to flood, frozen or if heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours. Buffer zones are specified for different kinds of water bodies and fertilisers may not be applied within those buffer zones.

The Minister reminded farmers in particular of the absolute necessity for full compliance with all buffer zone restrictions specified in the Nitrates Regulations. In addition, he urged farmers to spread livestock manure at greater distances from water courses than those specified in all cases where there is scope to do so.

From this statement you will know if you are farming above or below 170 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen.

Derogation: What is a derogation – under the Nitrates Directive it is a permit or permission to farm above 170 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen per hectare but below 250Kilos.

Irish farmers have been granted this derogation from Brussels until July 2010. After that a second derogation will be sought by the Irish negotiating team.

Upper Limit – Farmers are not allowed to farm at Organic Nitrogen levels above 250 Kilos per hectare. Any farmer in this situation is legally obliged to take measures to bring his stocking rate below 250 Kilos. These farmers' options are rent additional land; export slurry or reduce stock numbers.

Obligations on every farmer with livestock: What Records do you need to keep?
Record 1 – Annual fertiliser plan
Record 2 – Chemical fertiliser accounts or records
Record 3 – Organic fertilisers (manures) exported or imported.
Record 4 – Notification of temporary movement of cattle or sheep

REPS farmers and Nitrates – The fertiliser plan which is part of your REPS plan in either REPS 3 or 4 will suffice for Nitrates Records.
Non REPS Farmers – Farming below 170 Kilos of Organic (N)
Record 1 Annual fertiliser plan obligatory.
Record 2 Annual fertiliser records (Accounts) obligatory.

The farmer keeps these records 1 and 2 on farm and they must be available if he/she has a Department of Agriculture (DAF) in section.

Nitrates Derogation farmers i.e. farming between 170 – 250 Kgs of Organic (N) per hectare.

In 2007 – You were obliged to have:
1. Fertiliser Plan
2. Apply for derogation and the closing date for applying was 12th October 2007.

This derogation only applies to farmers with greater than 80 per cent grassland.

In 2008 you are obliged to send an account of the chemical fertilisers used in 2007 to the following address.Department of Agriculture and Food, Environment Section, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. The closing date is March 1st 2008 – There is a special Fertiliser Accounts form on the DAFF website for this purpose.

For 2008 – Nitrates Derogation farmers must have a "Fertiliser Plan" fertiliser plan in place by March 1, 2008. The farmer keeps this fertiliser plan and adheres to it during 2008. Records for 2008 must also be kept, that is an account of the fertilisers purchased etc.

"Apply for a Derogation" – The Single Farm Payment application form for 2008 will have a section specifically for this purpose. Any farmer seeking derogation must complete that section of the Single Farm Payment form.

"Derogation Plan" It
is also mandatory for such farmers to have a "derogation plan" this is far more comprehensive than a fertiliser plan.

Details of stock numbers, slurry storage facilities a detailed fertiliser plan on a field by field grass etc are all components of the derogation plan.

A farmer seeking a derogation must have his derogation plan in place as soon as possible in 2008. This plan is kept on farm for inspection by the Department of Agriculture.

Are there penalties for not complying? Yes deductions are made from a farmers Single Farm Payment if he/she is not compliant.

The penalty can be 15-30 per cent of a farmers Single Farm Payment or indeed higher.

Teagasc has computer programmes for doing both the fertiliser plan and the derogation plan. If you need assistance re same contact your local Teagasc office.

China's increasing wealth has meant that their diet has also changed. Whereas once the vast majority of China's population subsisted on rice, the diet is moving quickly towards a protein diet. The Chinese now want to eat the way we do — they want burgers and chicken nuggets, not just a bowl of rice.

But meat proteins come at a cost because to produce meat you need animal feedstuffs, and those feedstuffs are grain-based. So now there are new demands on grain production, not just for feeding a growing human population, but to feed animals destined for the table in the newly emerging economies like India and China.

Grain production is under other pressures as well. Climate change has caused a reduction in crop sizes in various parts of the globe lately and that shortfall has been aggravated by a move by many governments towards biofuels. It has been estimated that as much as 40pc of the US maize crop in 2007 went to the biofuel industry. That's a trend that's bound to continue as governments try to find ways of being less dependent on oil.

When grain becomes scarcer it get gets costlier. This year Italian consumers had a pasta strike, a kind of basta pasta, when their staple food rose in price relentlessly as the world-wide cost of grain soared. When grain costs more, then so will bread, pasta, poultry, beef and a huge variety of foods that need grain or flour in their production. With the world population rising, falling supplies of grain will cause massive social stresses.

As the effects of these global trends start to impinge on us here in Ireland, expect to see some changes. Whatever else we want to spend our money on, buying food isn't going to be an option — we'll still need to buy it. We'll have to cut back on something else. Luxury goods will be the first to feel the pinch, so too might foreign travel and restaurants.

If these global trends continue, then we may find that our food distribution systems will revert to where they were 60 years ago. As distribution and transport costs rise, we'll move back to locally produced foods. Kiwi fruit from New Zealand and asparagus from Peru will become harder to find because the cost of moving perishable goods over oceans will become prohibitive. Self-sufficiency will be the new mantra in both food and energy.

So what changes do I see in my crystal ball? I predict that land currently in set-aside will come back into production and that dairy farms will once again be profitable because their cattle aren't being fed on grain but graze on our abundant grass. Beef cattle will once more graze in fields, instead of being raised on slats indoors. Sheep production will remain unaffected for the same reason. I predict we'll see more geese in the poulterer's shops since geese don't eat grain, but grass.

Consequently the cost of grass-producing land will rise. Local markets, continental style, will become more common, where consumers and local food growers can come together without involving a huge distribution chain. We may have to adapt ourselves to a less global diet, just as we were getting used to one.

Irish potatoes could stage a major comeback as other sources of imported carbohydrates become pricier, and locally produced turnips, swedes and parsnips may supplant imported delicacies like yams and aubergines.

Wind energy and tidal energy will become increasingly our power source as oil becomes scarcer and costlier. Biofuels will play their part too, so expect to see fields of yellow-flowering rape around the country producing oil for fuel.

In truth, this doesn't look like bad news to me. Anything that puts us back in contact with the land around us and that gives us good locally-produced food can't be all bad.

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 also had its effect on world prices. The main source of competition has been China, whose need for oil to power its burgeoning economy has been a major factor in pushing up the prices.

China's increasing wealth has meant that their diet has also changed. Whereas once the vast majority of China's population subsisted on rice, the diet is moving quickly towards a protein diet. The Chinese now want to eat the way we do — they want burgers and chicken nuggets, not just a bowl of rice.

But meat proteins come at a cost because to produce meat you need animal feedstuffs, and those feedstuffs are grain-based. So now there are new demands on grain production, not just for feeding a growing human population, but to feed animals destined for the table in the newly emerging economies like India and China.

Grain production is under other pressures as well. Climate change has caused a reduction in crop sizes in various parts of the globe lately and that shortfall has been aggravated by a move by many governments towards biofuels. It has been estimated that as much as 40pc of the US maize crop in 2007 went to the biofuel industry. That's a trend that's bound to continue as governments try to find ways of being less dependent on oil.

When grain becomes scarcer it get gets costlier. This year Italian consumers had a pasta strike, a kind of basta pasta, when their staple food rose in price relentlessly as the world-wide cost of grain soared. When grain costs more, then so will bread, pasta, poultry, beef and a huge variety of foods that need grain or flour in their production. With the world population rising, falling supplies of grain will cause massive social stresses.

As the effects of these global trends start to impinge on us here in Ireland, expect to see some changes. Whatever else we want to spend our money on, buying food isn't going to be an option — we'll still need to buy it. We'll have to cut back on something else. Luxury goods will be the first to feel the pinch, so too might foreign travel and restaurants.

If these global trends continue, then we may find that our food distribution systems will revert to where they were 60 years ago. As distribution and transport costs rise, we'll move back to locally produced foods. Kiwi fruit from New Zealand and asparagus from Peru will become harder to find because the cost of moving perishable goods over oceans will become prohibitive. Self-sufficiency will be the new mantra in both food and energy.

So what changes do I see in my crystal ball? I predict that land currently in set-aside will come back into production and that dairy farms will once again be profitable because their cattle aren't being fed on grain but graze on our abundant grass. Beef cattle will once more graze in fields, instead of being raised on slats indoors. Sheep production will remain unaffected for the same reason. I predict we'll see more geese in the poulterer's shops since geese don't eat grain, but grass.

Consequently the cost of grass-producing land will rise. Local markets, continental style, will become more common, where consumers and local food growers can come together without involving a huge distribution chain. We may have to adapt ourselves to a less global diet, just as we were getting used to one.

Irish potatoes could stage a major comeback as other sources of imported carbohydrates become pricier, and locally produced turnips, swedes and parsnips may supplant imported delicacies like yams and aubergines.

Wind energy and tidal energy will become increasingly our power source as oil becomes scarcer and costlier. Biofuels will play their part too, so expect to see fields of yellow-flowering rape around the country producing oil for fuel.

In truth, this doesn't look like bad news to me. Anything that puts us back in contact with the land around us and that gives us good locally-produced food can't be all bad.

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 also had its effect on world prices. The main source of competition has been China, whose need for oil to power its burgeoning economy has been a major factor in pushing up the prices.

China's increasing wealth has meant that their diet has also changed. Whereas once the vast majority of China's population subsisted on rice, the diet is moving quickly towards a protein diet. The Chinese now want to eat the way we do — they want burgers and chicken nuggets, not just a bowl of rice.

But meat proteins come at a cost because to produce meat you need animal feedstuffs, and those feedstuffs are grain-based. So now there are new demands on grain production, not just for feeding a growing human population, but to feed animals destined for the table in the newly emerging economies like India and China.

Grain production is under other pressures as well. Climate change has caused a reduction in crop sizes in various parts of the globe lately and that shortfall has been aggravated by a move by many governments towards biofuels. It has been estimated that as much as 40pc of the US maize crop in 2007 went to the biofuel industry. That's a trend that's bound to continue as governments try to find ways of being less dependent on oil.

When grain becomes scarcer it get gets costlier. This year Italian consumers had a pasta strike, a kind of basta pasta, when their staple food rose in price relentlessly as the world-wide cost of grain soared. When grain costs more, then so will bread, pasta, poultry, beef and a huge variety of foods that need grain or flour in their production. With the world population rising, falling supplies of grain will cause massive social stresses.

As the effects of these global trends start to impinge on us here in Ireland, expect to see some changes. Whatever else we want to spend our money on, buying food isn't going to be an option — we'll still need to buy it. We'll have to cut back on something else. Luxury goods will be the first to feel the pinch, so too might foreign travel and restaurants.

If these global trends continue, then we may find that our food distribution systems will revert to where they were 60 years ago. As distribution and transport costs rise, we'll move back to locally produced foods. Kiwi fruit from New Zealand and asparagus from Peru will become harder to find because the cost of moving perishable goods over oceans will become prohibitive. Self-sufficiency will be the new mantra in both food and energy.

So what changes do I see in my crystal ball? I predict that land currently in set-aside will come back into production and that dairy farms will once again be profitable because their cattle aren't being fed on grain but graze on our abundant grass. Beef cattle will once more graze in fields, instead of being raised on slats indoors. Sheep production will remain unaffected for the same reason. I predict we'll see more geese in the poulterer's shops since geese don't eat grain, but grass.

Consequently the cost of grass-producing land will rise. Local markets, continental style, will become more common, where consumers and local food growers can come together without involving a huge distribution chain. We may have to adapt ourselves to a less global diet, just as we were getting used to one.

Irish potatoes could stage a major comeback as other sources of imported carbohydrates become pricier, and locally produced turnips, swedes and parsnips may supplant imported delicacies like yams and aubergines.

Wind energy and tidal energy will become increasingly our power source as oil becomes scarcer and costlier. Biofuels will play their part too, so expect to see fields of yellow-flowering rape around the country producing oil for fuel.

In truth, this doesn't look like bad news to me. Anything that puts us back in contact with the land around us and that gives us good locally-produced food can't be all bad.

ESTIMATED CONTRACTOR’S CHARGES FOR 2008

JANUARY 2008

These prices are averages, and prices may vary across regional variations, soil types, distance travelled, size of contract undertaken etc. All charges and costs are per acre including vat @13.5% unless otherwise stated. The Irish farming has surveyed its members and got the following responses from across the country. Contractors need to monitor fuel prices on a weekly basis and adjust prices.                                                                              These are ONLY a guide and prices in regions may vary considerably.

Full details of BVD eradication and control will be one of the subjects covered at four regional meetings throughout Northern Ireland being organised by Pfizer Animal Health in conjunction with AFBI and the UFU. The control of IBR, Johnes and Leptospirosis will also be outlined by Dr. David Graham, AFBI and William Sherarrd, MRCVS, Pfizer Animal Health. Orkney farmer, Michael Cursitor will discuss the practical approach taken to eliminating BVD on Orkney. Each meeting will be chaired by the UFU and will be followed by supper or a light lunch:
o Wednesday 5 December 8.00PM , Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh
o Thursday 6 December, 11.00AM Bannville Hotel, Banbridge
o Thursday 6 December 8.00PM Comfort Hotel, Antrin
o Friday 7 December 11.00AM Lodge, Hotel Coleraine
For further details please contact: William Sherrard, MRCVS, Area Veterinary Manager, Pfizer Animal Health. 079 6721 4513.

In the report, economist Jim Power criticises the 'self-appointed champions of the consumer' who propagate the view that consumers should buy food at the lowest price possible.

'This attitude could seriously damage Irish production of quality food and lead to imports from countries with much lower systems of quality and safety control. This would ultimately damage consumers' interests,' he adds.

Jim Power points out that despite the massive growth in employment in other sectors of the economy, the agri-food sector both directly and indirectly employs 230,000 in production, processing, marketing and servicing. This accounts for 11% of total employment.

'More importantly, the agri-food sector contributes twice as much in value added to the economy as other manufacturing areas,' he says.

'For every €100 of output generated by the agri-food sector, €75 is spent on Irish raw materials, labour and services. The comparable figure for other areas of manufacturing is just €38,' the economist says.

'For many years, the story about Irish farming and food was one of retrenchment and sometimes depression,' commented Mairead Lavery, Chairman of Agri Aware. 'It is now one of excitement and optimism,' she added.

Richard Harnett the general manager at Castleisland Coop is in charge of one such busy business with a turnover of €32.4m and some 20 employees. Up to 3,000 farmers in the area from Castletownbere in Cork to Newcastle West in Limerick use the mart regularly.

The cooperative is still one of the main meeting points for rural communities. But in comparison with the boom years of the Sixties and Seventies, the past 10 years have been tough enough, says Harnett who is a shareholder in the business. He says the problems started back in 1996 when the link was made between CJD and BSE, leading to panic about Mad Cow disease in the UK. The downturn was compounded in 2001 with the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease across the UK.

However, it still survives as a way of life in much of Ireland, although marts have been closing in the East. In recent times marts have closed in Maynooth. Ashbourne, Mullingar and Drogheda, Harnett notes.

Castleisland is one of the biggest and best-known marts in the country with some 320 shareholders and 12 directors.

These days the mart is selling more cattle too with almost 78,000 going under the hammer this year. This is up quite significantly from the 67,400 sold in 2005. But the business is getting difficult for farmers who are increasingly only farming part time.

"The guy who would have had 40 cows now has only 20 and others who would have had, say, 25 are now reduced to five. The enthusiasm for producing livestock is gone and the price is terrible."

Nevertheless, he remains reasonably upbeat.

"Prices could change overnight. If you look at milk, it is up 12¢ to 15¢ a litre on the back of the Australian draught and under production in Europe. The cost of grain has also increased as it is used for biofuels so the US is also not exporting, leading to a world shortage. Yet a lot of Irish farmers had moved out of dairy and are now disappointed as the returns are fairly decent."

Similar factors may also push up the price of beef. Overall beef production in the EU has dropped with the elimination of food mountains. At the same time, draughts are pushing up grain costs and thus the input costs of Irish farmers. The problem is that supermarkets can turn to cheaper Brazilian beef to fill the gap rather than paying up. The IFA is constantly lobbying on this and not surprisingly Harnett advocates that farmers should hang on in there.

Such is the demand for beef in Europe that last year more than 331,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef were imported into the EU, a 20 per cent increase from a year earlier. Like almost everyone else involved with Irish beef Harnett bemoans the amount of Brazilian beef flooding into the market, which he describes as the straw which broke the camel's back.

"Brazil is walking with Foot and Mouth, and it does not have the same traceability as here," says Harnett. "Yet the EU still allows its importation."

The EU, however, disputes this version.

"We are confident the measures we apply are sufficient to protect animal health within the EU," says the Commission's health spokesman, Philip Tod.

But Harnett insists that Irish farmers need a level playing field and while many have put a significant effort into improving the quality of their calves, the quality coming from Brazil is poor. But it is lean and that means serious competition for the Italian market which has been proving quite lucrative for Irish farmers since recent times.

Many of the cattle sold at Castleisland are destined for Holland, Spain and Italy. And there is still good business when the agents for the Italian and Spanish come to assemble a load, often paying a premium. In some cases there can be over €500 in the difference between the price of quality bulls which are suitable for export, particularly to Italy, and more ordinary stock. Overall about a quarter of calves sold at Castleisland leave the country.

"The Italians will really pay for good quality," notes Harnett. They particularly like muscular lean meat where the Irish still prefer heifers, which produce marbling.

This message of quality over quantity is one that the mart is keen to stress to farmers.

The mart gets commission from both the buyer and seller and as a result products are still reasonable. Most of the profit is ploughed back into the business with the mart spending up to €3m redeveloping buildings for both office accommodation and putting in "catwalks" for buyers to view the cattle. Though it's hard to imagine Naomi Campbell sashaying down one.

THE POOR health of Irish weanlings is affecting the export trade and farmers need to take action to tackle outbreaks of respiratory diseases.

This was one of the main messages from a meeting, which was held in Elphin Mart last Wednesday night to discuss the vaccination of weanlings.

A large crowd turned out to the meeting with guest speakers including Gerry Cregg, Teagasc; Bernard Donohoe, IFA; Stephen Foley, exporter; Conor Geraghty, vet and Gerry Connellan, Elphin mart manager.

Up to 33% of the national turnover at Elphin Mart comes from the export trade so the issue of weanling health is of major importance to farmers in the greater Elphin area.

Mr Gerry Cregg, Teagasc advisor from Boyle explained that the general health of the Irish weanling had deteriorated in the past number of years.

He pointed out that there was not enough of a price differential between the various grades of cattle and there had been problems of ill health among weanlings going to the export markets of Italy and Spain. Mr Cregg stressed that the weanling export trade was extremely important to the Irish farming industry and in particular for farmers from the greater Elphin area.

"Eighty per cent of weanlings are held in Ireland with 20% sent for the export market.

In the Elphin area there is less diary and the quality of cattle has improved greatly to the extent that we have a better quality calf coming through the ring here than compared to the south of the country. We are however, experiencing a lot of losses in the Italian and Spanish exports," stressed Mr Cregg.

Mr. McMahon concluded by calling on the meat plants to realise and act on
the fact that if they didn't pass back a decent price to their suppliers
then the very future of Ireland's winter finishers must be called into
question.

As a result, many ‘supposedly' early varieties, which harvest well in NIAB/MGA, are not the most consistent quality performers under more challenging, cool wet conditions."

CHALLENGING
The best maize types were those that flowered early, produced consistent high yields and reliably produced high starch contents.
For many years varieties like Speedy have continued to be recommended on the N. Ireland Recommended List, long after they were removed from the NIAB list, because of a variety's ability to produce high starch silage under challenging conditions.
Though now being classified as outclassed in N. Ireland, it still has one of the highest starch and ME scores and is only now being replaced by varieties with similar stability and starch content, but higher yield.
In this respect the performance of Kaukas in the recently released Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Recommended List.
Now provisionally recommended in N. Ireland, Kaukas is one of the highest yielding varieties, but also has a clear 5% starch yield advantage over all other listed varieties.
Kaukas' adaptability was also confirmed by NIAB trials in 2006, where it performed well despite the cold establishment period and the hot dry summer.
This level of consistent performance, over a range of conditions, helps ensure growers have quality in the clamp whatever the season.
While Kaukas proved it's earliness in the more testing N Irish conditions varieties such as Sapphire and Destiny, while appearing to be early from the NIAB List, produced poor starch figures in the province.
It is only by looking at figures from a wide range of trials and different testing bodies that a true indication of performance can be accurately gleaned.

According to Glos farmer, David Cullimore, feeding Kaukas this winter had yielded an extra 1l/cow/day, compared with other maize varieties.
Farming in partnership with his wife and sons at Mobley Farm, Berkley, he grew Kaukas for the first time last year and while it looked good in the field the proof of the pudding was in the feeding.
With 60 of his 230 acres of maize silage down to the variety, he's recorded a noticeable drop in milk yield when he switched out of Kaukas to Wallis, Gazelle and Companero. Not only that, when he opened up a fresh face of Kaukas in the clamp, yields returned to their previous highs.
"It's early maturing and produced an exceptional yield with a fantastic grain to forage ratio and great cobs. On our heavy ground, it hung on better in the dry summer and matured at just the right time," he said.