There was a sense of relief among farm organisations yesterday in the aftermath of a draconian budget that did not hit farming as hard as recent efforts. In his post Budget press briefing, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith was also in relatively upbeat mood. The fact that agriculture was spared harsh cuts was seen as [...]
Total cereal production fell by a staggering 520,000t this year, Teagasc's crop report has confirmed. Overall production was 1.86m tonnes this year, compared to 2.38m tonnes for 2008 — a fall of 22pc. With the exception of winter barley, yields were below average for all main crops during this year's harvest. Teagasc tillage specialist Jim [...]
ICSA suckler chairman Brendan McLaughlin has said today that on farm inspections are getting totally out of hand. He said “there is a level of detail required that drags the whole process out to a ridiculous extent. Many inspections on relatively small and well-managed farms are taking nearly a full day. This cannot be justified [...]
The area sown to winter wheat has fallen by 30pc on last year. However, early reports indicate that winter barley sowings are 20pc up on 2008 levels. Experts say the disparity in sowings between 2008 and this year could be down to a substitution effect, as farmers switch from wheat to barley and from spring [...]
NRM Limited has gained full accreditation for the testing of Irish agricultural soils. The company, which is the leading agricultural testing laboratory in the UK, is one of the first few organisations serving the Irish market to achieve this accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Critically it is the only laboratory that includes organic matter within its [...]
THE government’s ‘flawed’ policy is contributing to the current crisis in the dairy sector, according to ICMSA President Jackie Cahill. “EU milk production is increasing at a time when consumption is falling. The resultant market imbalance has caused the biggest crisis in the dairy sector ever. The crisis is due to extra milk production in [...]
IFA Rural Development Chairman, Tom Turley, said that an IFA national analysis of REPS planning fees show a significant variation, and lower fees must now apply given the economic realities and the 17% reduction in REPS payments. Teagasc and private planners must contribute to the lower cost of compliance given the reduction in payments. Tom [...]
During the final three decades of the last century, due to EU regulations, farming production systems in Ireland and across western Europe, became very 'intensive', with the emphasis on maximum production rather than market requirements. This consequently led to over production and the inevitable introduction of 'production limits or quotas'. This has resulted in reduced [...]
A new company which aims to supply the organic liquid milk market was launched last week at the National Organic Farming Conference in Birr, Co Offaly. The Irish Organic Milk Producers Ltd (IOMP) will represent organic dairy farmers and intends to develop a nationwide distribution network for organic milk. It was one of two organisations [...]
Agriculture will once again be in the firing line as the Government struggles to bridge the latest budgetary shortfall. Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith has confirmed that spending in all departments will be reviewed as part of the ongoing process to cut costs. Rationalisation of Department offices, as well as the sharing of resources with bodies [...]
