SCHOOL EDITION 22 MARCH 2023 - Flipbook - Page 1
On the farmers’ side
JANUARY 28 2021 www.farmweek.com PRICE £1.30 (2)
FarmersFOR
leftGRANT
in the SCHEME
dark overDOUBLED
post-CAP
– P5
FUNDS
TOplans
£15M:
FARMWEEK
RURALREALITY
CORMAC McKERVEY
Purple potatoes
direct from the
Spudshack
P12-13
Importance of
setting our own
support P41
DAERA inspections target
farmers outing BVD rules
F
ARMERS
stubbornly
holding on to BVD
positive animals could
nd DAERA ofcials
banging on their doors
in the coming weeks.
The unannounced inspections come with a threat that
those failing to comply to the
letter of the regulations could
face nes of up to £5,000.
And offenders are unlikely
to nd much sympathy
among fellow farmers as it is
only a persistent minority of
breeders that are holding up
the complete eradication of the
condition.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union
welcomed
the
hardening
stance from the Department
of Agriculture and urged all its
members to comply with the
regulations.
Herds which retain a BVD
– Bovine Viral Diarrhoea –
positive animal will be on
the receiving end of surprise
checks aimed at ensuring that
infected animals are securely
isolated.
Compliance with the 2016
BVD Order requires BVD
infected animals be kept
“within housing to prevent
direct or indirect contact with
other susceptible animals”.
The department is currently
REPORT
STEVEN MOORE
s.moore@farmweek.com
in the process of issuing
warning letters to herd owners
who have retained BVD animals
for a considerable time after
a positive test, alerting them
to the potential of inspections
and nes.
A DAERA spokesperson said:
“Herd keepers are initially
informed of the requirement
to isolate BVD positives by
Animal Health and Welfare
Northern Ireland (AHWNI)
when test results are reported.
“The department will now be
issuing an isolation warning
letter if the animal is still in the
herd for a signicant period
after the positive test date.
“This will be followed up by
an isolation inspection visit
if the animal remains in the
herd.”
Dr Sam Strain, Chief Executive
of AHWNI, said infected
animals presented a very
high risk of further infection
to the rest of their herd, to
neighbouring herds and to
herds purchasing pregnant
TURN TO PAGE 4
Well insulated against wintry weather
ARMOY: Heavy snowfall across much of the Province last weekend caused problems with access to remote farms,
however these sheep pictured near Armoy in County Antrim on Saturday morning were content in the wintry conditions.
PICTURE: Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia
order your tags now
AGRI-POWER
www.agri-power.co.uk
028 8778 9770
97 Moy Rd, Dungannon.
countrysideservices.com
A handy strip of
124a Curr Road, Beragh David Hughes: 075 9970 0634
Omagh, BT79 0QT
Ben Sinnamon: 075 9570 0635
Tel: 028 8075 8945
Nigel Kee:
085 886 9571
Rossgier Business Park
Lifford, Co. Donegal
Tel: 074 914 2563
4 tags & one straight-line applicator
Contact us directly or visit your local
independent merchant and ask for Caisley Tags