Thursday, 25th


May 2017


info@eastcorkjournal.ie


EAST CORK AGRICULTURE info@eastcorkjournal.ie


Cattle Prices Increasing - IFA


IFA National Live-


stock Chairman Angus Woods said cattle price are continuing to rise, with reports of €4.10 to as high as €4.20 base offered for steers and €4.20 to €4.30 offered for heifers. In addition he said


€4.15 base has been paid for bulls and prices of €4.10/4.20 for R/U grades are common. He said finished cattle supplies have tightened dramatically in the last two weeks and factories are scrambling to get ad- equate supplies to meet strong market demand.


The Livestock leader


said UK beef price has increased again by 3p/ kg in the last week and this is the sixth succes- sive week of price rises. UK prices are now 41p/ kg above last year’s lev- els. Current UK prices are £3.62/kg, which is equivalent to €4.43/kg including VAT. “This positive momentum in our largest export mar- ket provides significant scope for factories to lift prices further here,” An- gus Woods said. The official Depart-


ment of Agriculture re- ported prices for week


ending May 7th show


that the average R3 steer price was €4.19/ kg and the average R3 heifer price was €4.31/ kg. Young bulls are mak- ing €4.19 for Us, €4.11 for Rs and €3.91/kg for O grades. Angus Woods said Cows are also a good trade with €3.68/ kg for Rs, €3.47 for Os and €3.41/kg for P+ grades. On live exports, Angus


Woods said the trade re- mains buoyant with to- tal live exports reaching over 105,000 head. This is an increase of over 31,000 head on last year


and reflecting a 42% in- crease. He said


this is due


mainly to a strong calf export trade to the EU as a result of IFA work in reducing charges on exports. In addition, he said the live export trade is strongly boosted by the exports to Turkey where he said two ships have al- ready sailed and another is due to load again next week.


Angus Woods said the


Express 1 boat is loading for Libya this week and another boat is on the way to Ireland to load for Turkey.


IFA Puts Forward Proposals For A New Protocol On Bord Bia Farm Audits


IFA National Live-


stock Chairman Angus Woods said IFA has put forward proposals to Bord Bia for a new Pro- tocol on Farm Audits under the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Qual- ity


Assurance Scheme


(SBLQAS). He said this proto- col is mainly focused on a farmer-friendly approach by the audi- tors, whereby they will adopt a positive help- ful approach that is re- spectful, courteous and non-threating to the farmer at all times. IFA met with Bord


Bia recently and went through the main is- sues the new protocol will cover. Bord Bia has agreed to finalise the arrangements without


delay so they can be adopted as best practice on the ground within weeks.


the new SBLQAS was launched at


Angus Woods said Easter


and already more than 1,800 farm audits have been undertaken. The new Help Desk to as- sist


farmers with any


non-compliances and the new close-out facility is up and running with eight trained operatives. The Help Desk is being operated by FRS (Farm Relief Services) from Castleisland Co Kerry and telephone lines are operative from 9am to 8pm daily. IFA has a suggested the service be made available on Sat- urdays.


Angus Woods said IFA @eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


has put forward propos- als on which Bord Bia are working, covering a number of key areas such as notice of inspec- tion. He said under the Bord Bia scheme, it is left up to the farmer to decide when is the best time to conduct the au- dit, usually within about a four-month window. Scheduling the date and time is entirely with the farmer’s agreement. The Protocol will also


cover the audit and cer- tification process as well as the new close-out fa- cility to allow the farmer correct non-complianc- es. It will make clear what


the farmer can


expect at each stage in the process and how the Help Desk and close-out arrangements will assist


eastcorkjournal


them. Angus Woods said it is important that the farmer is clear on all of the issues before the auditor leaves the farm. Angus Woods said


Bord Bia has commit- ted that, on average, an SBLQAS audit should not take more than 90 minutes. Other important include


is- sues removing


the necessity for farmers to assemble or pen cattle or sheep for an SBLQAS audit. Photographs will only be taken with the absolute prior consent of the farmer and where they can assist the close- out process. The certifi- cation period will be for 18 months and Bord Bia will ensure that all audi- tors are fully trained on an ongoing basis.


21


Deadline Monday at noon


IFA Welcomes Extension To Knowledge Transfer Deadline


IFA Rural Devel-


opment Chairman Joe Brady has welcomed the extension of the deadline for completion of the first year of Knowledge Transfer requirements by two months to July 31st


.


He said IFA had been in touch with the Depart- ment of Agriculture on numerous occasions over the past month on this issue.


Joe Brady said, how-


ever, that farmers must not be victims of the difficulties the Depart- ment of Agriculture has had with its IT systems, and Knowledge Trasfer payments must not be delayed later in the year. 20,000 farmers are due a yearly payment of €750 for participation in the Knowledge Transfer scheme over a 3 year pe-


riod. Given the difficulties


that have plagued the Knowledge Transfer scheme since it com- menced, IFA is now calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed to instigate a re- view of the scheme, as promised by the Depart- ment of Agriculture to the IFA some months ago.


ICSA Warns Against Unfair BPS Penalties For Fire Damaged Lands


opment


ICSA rural devel- chairman


Seamus Sherlock has questioned the legality of penalising farmers through the Basic Pay- ment


Scheme whose


land has been burned unless there is absolute proof that the farmer was guilty of causing the fire. “It


clear that


is abundantly the


rapid


spread of fires in re- cent weeks means that the majority of farm- ers had no hand, act or


part in the burning and were


in fact, victims


of collateral damage caused by the careless- ness or recklessness of a few. In fact, we have no proof that any farm- er deliberately started a fire.”


Mr Sherlock was


speaking following a statement by Minister of State Andrew Doyle that


satellite imagery


would be examined to identify land as burnt illegally which would then be deemed inel-


igible under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme and other land based schemes. Mr Sherlock said


“Fires are caused by a variety of reasons and can spread into parcels of land owned by many individuals. There is the potential that a co- hort


of farmers will


face penalties through no fault of their own. The Basic Payment is too important an in- come source to be raid- ed in this manner.”


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


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