Thursday 26 April 2018
The ball is now in the Agriculture Minister's court to pay 'forgotten farmers' what they're owed and prevent young farmers from leaving farming, Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice has claimed.
There have been some attempts by factories to undermine farmer confidence in the market place.
Q. I run a medium-sized farm rearing lamb and plan to set up a farm shop. Is there any advice you can give?
Suckler farmer John Graham could right now be enjoying a cushy office job in Dublin earning a decent salary as he once did.
GARDAÍ are probing an alleged assault after an incident between two members of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
North-west based Aurivo Co-op believes a potential link-up with LacPatrick Dairies would deliver a strong Brexit buffer for both businesses.
The reliance of livestock breeders on genotyping for pedigree validation of animals has been undermined by the scale of "incorrect" parentage which has been found in a major scientific assessment.
An additional charge has been brought against three of the four alleged burglars of a rural Co Clare farmhouse where a 95 year old man was asleep at the time.
North-west based Aurivo Co-op believes a potential link-up with LacPatrick Dairies would deliver a strong Brexit buffer for both businesses.
Q. I am trying to come up with ways to keep my shop fresh and ensure customers don't go online with my competitors. Any ideas?
The IFA is calling on farmers to "stand back" from forced sales of farmland, as it estimates that at least 150,000 acres are under threat.
A farmer has been given a month to start works to clean-up his farm yard by a District Court.
European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan insisted there would be "no deal" on Mercosur unless negotiators are fully satisfied strong standards will apply to all produce. It comes as another round of the negotiations on Mercosur got under way in Brussels this week.
Balancing payments under the new Sheep Welfare Scheme are commencing this week to all eligible farmers.
The European Union could offer Britain a closer relationship after Brexit if Prime Minister Theresa May decides to stay in the bloc’s customs union, diplomats said.
The IFA is calling on farmers to 'stand back' from forced sales of farmland, as it estimates that at least 150,000 acres of farmland is under threat from forced sales.
The Department's proposed changes to farm-to-farm movement certs are "too restrictive and could lead to penalties", ICMSA deputy president Lorcan McCabe has warned.
Fodder shortage hit farmers are set to get no respite this week as Met Eireann are forecasting frost, hail, thunder and temperatures as low as 0C.
The EU Commission has confirmed that it is working on plans to allow member states to apply a zero VAT rate to all vaccines for veterinary purposes in future, Mairead McGuinness MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament has said.
Missing climate change and renewable energy targets will cost the State well in excess of €150m as emissions continue to rise.
The Farm Contractors Association of Ireland (FCI) have released a recommended list of guide prices that contractors will be charging for various jobs this year.
"It's hard to get a handle on it, but they're not any less". That brief summary of where factory beef prices were at yesterday morning was given to me by a factory agent, who occasionally has a foot in more than one plant.
It looks like summer is back on hold for the next few days as Met Eireann are forecasting frost, hail, thunder and temperatures as low as 0C.
Glanbia delivered positive revenue growth of 4.8pc at constant currency in the first quarter of 2018 from wholly owned continuing operations.
Sinn Féin is to back a unionist candidate in the upcoming Seanad by-election.
Agri-advisors have raised concerns about the pressures being placed on tillage farmers with the volume of work left to be completed due to the late spring.
Concerns are being raised over the fast-approaching breeding season as farmers continue to deal with the fallout from the weather woes.
The tillage sector is "extremely vulnerable" with many likely to go out of business if faced with cuts to direct payments, a CAP event in Kilkenny has heard.
Pumping water from the River Shannon to serve Dublin and the Midlands will cost €13m every year, Irish Water says.
The ‘spectacular’ west Clare 300 ft high cliffs where a farmer dumped 12 animal carcasses is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide to Ireland, a court has heard.
The EU should ensure prudent use of antimicrobials in farming, prohibit veterinary use of critical ones, support research and fight for global rules, Agriculture Committee said this week.
Damien Rice is in a race against time to get a giant wind turbine – which has no planning permission – demolished.
Nowadays customers for farmland don’t just look at the agricultural potential of the property but the tourism and heritage potential of the buildings and the yard are also taken into account.
The widow of a young farmer who died from complications while being transferred between Waterford and Cork hospitals has pleaded with Health Minister Simon Harris to urgently review cardiac services.
A close friend who had his farm and business burgled within weeks of one another led one enterprising man to set up a free online database of stolen and recovered property.
Concerned farmers have urged that LacPatrick Dairies must be given the "space and time" to decide the best option for the Border region co-op.
Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has confirmed that almost €1m is owed to sugar producers over-charged sugar production levies for the years 1999/2000 and 2000/2001.
My son and I had big plans around the new BMW X3. We were going to drive it on its launch back from Malaga in southern Spain to the BMW British headquarters near Farnborough.
A new project in the Bride Valley in east Cork will reward participating farmers for wildlife on their farms.
Aberdeen Angus breeding has been practiced in the Lisduff Herd at Virginia, Co Cavan for nearly three quarters of a century where “red” has become the new shade of sale price leaders.
A 71ac residential holding at Clareen, Cashel in Co Tipperary sold at auction during the week making a total of €775,000.
Irish Water has ruled out using sea water as a new drinking supply for Dublin and the midlands, saying it would require six times as much energy to make the water drinkable and produce millions of litres of 'salty' brine which would have to be disposed.
A new trade deal between the European Union and Mexico could help Ireland's agri-food sector diversify as Brexit looms.
Levally Cottage on 12.8ac is a beautifully renovated cottage on the shores of Levally Lake, Bofeenaun at the heart of Co Mayo. With the majestic Nephin mountain as a backdrop the house and lands are for sale by private treaty with a guide price of €650,000.
It’s almost nine years now since Mayo farmer Seán Carolan read an article by English historian Ray Werner who claimed that Ireland has a native, primitive breed of goat.
The Department of Agriculture has said it is 'confident' of gaining a derogation for Irish farmers on the three-crop rule, in light of the difficult weather in recent months.
The French imports upon which the 'Sligo' pedigree Salers herd was established almost a quarter of a century ago continues to be a cornerstone for the success of the Gurteen herd.
Reported comments made by Commissioner Oettinger that the European Commission will propose a cut of 6pc in CAP funding will be extremely worrying for all farmers but especially for those in the low income sectors where EU supports are vital, according to ICSA president Patrick Kent.
A farmer in his 70s died this weekend, after an incident involving a tractor and trailer in Co. Cavan.
For many farming families one of the biggest difficulties with housing has been securing planning permission on or near the family farm. However, a bigger issue has reared its head in the application of the Vacant Site levy which threatens many farmers who own land in areas which are zoned residential or regeneration land.
A 17-year-old, part blind and deaf dog has been hailed a hero after looking after a three-year-old child who had got lost, alone in the Australian bushland overnight.
A farming nun whose monastery is in danger of being without fuel for the winter, said she is heartbroken from the worst spring ever.
Kerry pig farmer Shane McAuliffe was less than impressed when he spotted rashers for sale on the shelves of supermarket Iceland and wants to know why they say ‘produced in Ireland’?
Moves are being made to encourage inter-farm trading of forage between tillage growers and livestock farmers ahead of next winter.
Farmers must make themselves more "indispensable" towards tackling energy and climate change problems, with an uphill battle ahead in protecting the vital Common Agricultural Policy funding, it has been warned.
Tourist hotspots of Kerry, Donegal and Mayo top the list of counties sharing €10m under a scheme to repair roads and boreens, the Irish Independent can reveal.
I should be writing about how the crops are doing, but we are at least a month behind with everything.
Readers may recall the considerable confusion on Stamp Duty rates following last October’s budget.
The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump.
Failure to secure a free trade deal with the European Union will be “disastrous” for Britain’s £28 billion processed food and drinks industry, MPs have warned.
Every farmer has a tale of hardship to relate about this spring.
It is human nature to knock those who appear to be successful in life. We Irish are particularly good at it, the last generation raised us to ensure "we did not get above our station", the last straw was success going to somebody's head.
Agri-diesel prices are 60pc higher this spring than in 2016. This week, farmers will pay an average of €798 per thousand litres of agri diesel compared to €500 including VAT in 2016.
Lots of us remember long summers of blistered hands and broken backs. The rest of us have internalised sepia postcards of small donkeys hauling home baskets of dark sods to small cottages.
The message reflected a magic moment of relief for one rain-weary dairy farmer in West Cork. He had just seen his first swallows of the year - a sign that the pattern of months of gloom was at last changing.
Food producers in France will be forced to think of new ways to describe some of their vegetarian and vegan foods when they are banned from using terms such as “vegetarian sausages”, "vegetarian mince" and “vegan bacon”.
It used to be that visiting a wood was about connecting with nature and a blast of fresh air. A recent outing to Lough Key Forest Park and Activity Centre near Boyle, Co Roscommon revealed it can now also be about more.
A New Holland tractor filled with teddy bears is set to make its way through Dublin city centre this Saturday in an effort to raise funds for Irish children's charity, the LauraLynn Children's Hospice.
In the modern sporting world you are nothing if you don't have access to a centre of excellence.
Farming and rugby have more in common than you think, according to farmer and captain of the Irish Women’s Rugby team, Ciara Griffin.
The fodder crisis is hitting hard in Leitrim as dairy farmer Joe Devine can testify. His animals have been in and out of the sheds since last August and face another month of weather-related misery before any sort of normality returns.
Significant changes to its advisory programme will be required in the wake of this winter's feed shortages, the second major fodder crisis to hit the country in just six years, Teagasc has conceded.
A video clip of delighted Irish cows being let out to grass for the first time this spring, became a minor internet sensation in the past week.
Shannon Airport today cut its grass early to help farmers with fodder shortages.
Volkswagen expect the new Touareg large SUV to arrive here in June - in plenty of time for the 182-plate in July.
In response to the fodder crisis in the north-west, Teagasc teamed up with Aurivo Co-op for a series of farm walks in Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal earlier this month. The walks encouraged farmers to take action now to ensure they have adequate fodder supplies for 2018.
The animals are outside again after being kept indoors due to wet weather
Seven industrial sites named on EPA’s latest National Priority Sites List for Enforcement, including four agri-food companies.
A 70.5ac residential farm at Clone, Kilmoganny near Kells in Co Kilkenny is for sale by private treaty with an overall guide price of €780,000.
A Dublin nursing home opened the gates to its lawns to allow one farmer who was short of fodder.
The pilot assessments looking at the cumulative effects of exposure to pesticides in food on the human nervous and thyroid systems – are expected to be finalised by the end of the year.
More than 50pc of German households bought a Kerrygold product last year, making it one of the top 10 fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Germany.
Synchronisation involves the hormonal manipulation of the cow's reproductive cycle.
Case IH has added a new entry level model to its Optum tractors range which are based on a high power, low weight design that can be ballasted where required.
Arla Foods, one of the world’s biggest dairy companies, said a weaker pound after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union prompted it to start a cost-cutting programme to save 400 million euros ($493.5 million) by the end of 2020.
There are three ewes remaining to lamb in the Lyons flock at the time of writing and these ewes and their lambs are by far the luckiest sheep in the flock. They are housed, on a dry bed and being fed silage and concentrates.
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday some 25 percent of work remained to be done on a pact covering UK withdrawal from the EU, including crucial issues such as management of the Ireland/Northern Ireland border.
The Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has said he is considering the possibility of introducing the mandatory use of electronic tags in cattle.
AN opposition motion has been passed in the Dail to deliver a ‘ hardship fund’ and meal voucher scheme to help smaller farmers severely impacted by the crisis.
Cutting energy costs by 40pc on farms is "absolutely realistic" by following some simple steps and using readily available products, according to a Teagasc researcher.
Sharp differences have emerged between the ICMSA and IFA regarding base milk price cuts announced by Glanbia, Lakeland Dairies and LacPatrick.
The widow of a young farmer who died from complications while being transferred between Waterford and Cork hospitals has pleaded with Health Minister Simon Harris to urgently review cardiac services.
Large signs referring to "vulture funds and land grabbers" and threatening that "trespassers will be shot" have been erected on farmland allegedly being trespassed on, the High Court has heard.
The UK's largest co-op Dale Farm has said it is 'interested' in the announcement by LacPatrick yesterday that it is interested in a merger.
MEPs representing the UK’s agricultural communities are “deeply concerned” that Liam Fox has underestimated how difficult it will be to get British farmers a good trade deal after Brexit, according to private correspondence obtained by The Independent.
Brian O' Regan farms in Dunderrow just outside of Kinsale. A tillage and poultry farmer, he converted the tillage operation to organic production back in 2008.
Hundreds of dairy farmers are facing potential upheaval after LacPatrick announced it was looking at a tie-in with another business
Ivan Moffitt of Manorhamilton mart rates sheep as "the only job at the moment". The statement is backed up by the fact that, despite poor weather, for the second week in a row sheep farmers are walking on sunshine as factory quotes for hogget jumped another 20-25c/kg over the weekend.
It is understood that almost 30,000t of Skimmed Milk Powder was sold from the EU’s massive stockpile of the product at this latest auction.
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe has said farm contractors who are aware of rivals evading tax to make that information available to Revenue.
A MAN whose death sparked a major campaign over cardiac services in Waterford was told by his wife as he left UHW for transfer to Cork that she loved him and she would see him shortly.
The latest payment of annual tax-free forestry premiums for 2018 amounting to €17.33 million has been announced.
Wicklow Uplands Council has borrowed from the past in order to highlight the message of dog control.
One of the biggest dairy co-ops in the Border region is in talks with as many as three potential merger partners.
The red-hot trade for hoggets and lamb could last until mid-summer.
The fodder crisis has shown the extent of over dependence of farmers on contractor credit, it has been claimed.
The decision about whether to pack an umbrella or sunscreen has just been made a little easier, thanks to the launch of seven-day forecasts online for every part of the country by Met Éireann.
Farmers will receive tax cuts to help reduce the cost of feeding animals and help them cope with the ongoing fodder crisis under proposals from Fianna Fáil.
If there was ever a time that farmers needed sunshine it is now. I hope that when you are reading this the sun is shining and the rain has stopped. Over the past month, the weather just seemed to get worse by the day. The heavy flooding around three weeks ago put ground conditions really back.
The ESB has won its Supreme Court appeal over a significant finding that a procedure under which the Board served a notice to enter private lands to carry out works on electricity lines is unlawful.
The overall winner of the Teagasc/FBD Insurance Student of the Year award was Conor Coakley from Co. Cork and he attended the Teagasc Clonakilty Agricultural College.
We have been waiting for what seems like an eternity, but finally the spring proper has arrived. We've been so busy dealing with the shortage of fodder and the terrible weather that the breeding season has crept up on us. AI and bulling are now less than two weeks away on many farms.
German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner on Tuesday said she was finalizing a draft regulation to end use of the weed-killer glyphosate in household gardens, parks and sports facilities, and to set “massive” limits for its use in agriculture.
It has emerged the board of LacPatrick Dairies have agreed on pursing a number of strategic options to secure the future of the business.
FOR a man who was the Elvis of Irish country music, Big Tom McBride wore his status and celebrity with humility.
Manchester City secured their third premier league title in seven seasons on Sunday with five games still to play.
An Taoiseach Leo Varakar has said he travelled the country over the Dail’s Easter break and saw first hand the impact of poor road conditions particularly on people living in rural areas.
Homeowners will receive grants to upgrade septic tanks in areas where local rivers or lakes are polluted or at risk of failing quality standards.
Farmers are calling for action as they are being invaded by hungry deer coming down off the mountains due to the long hard winter.
Irish beef exporters are gearing up to access potentially lucrative contracts in the vast Asian marketplace of China after shipments were finally green-lit.
French food production group Danone has reported sales of €6bn in the first quarter of 2018, a 10.8pc increase year-on-year, according to results from the company.
William Chase, the 50-something entrepreneur and founder of Tyrrell's crisps, has just celebrated the 10th birthday of his second business, Chase Distillery, which sells a very different type of potato-based product – vodka.
Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture Andrew Doyle has hit back at criticism of the Government’s response to the fodder crisis in the Dail today.
Concerns have been raised by the farming community in north Louth about teenagers using scrambler bikes on the Cooley mountains.
Dairygold has confirmed that it has reduced its milk price (for March milk supplies) by 2c/L to 32c/L inclusive of 0.5c/L quality bonus and VAT, based on standard constituents of 3.3pc Protein and 3.6pc Butterfat.
Ireland’s latest deal to get beef into China is welcomed by industry, but its success can only be judged by the return to farmers.
Fodder prices have continued to harden over the last week on the back of increased demand at farm level.
A local pensioner is recovering having been assaulted and threatened by a gang at his home on Tuesday night.
Carrick-on-Suir Mart is set to remain closed for the "foreseeable future" following a fire that caused extensive damage in the mart last night, said Director John Curran.
Kerry Group has set its March milk price at 32c/L (VAT inclusive).
Demand for meat in China has quadrupled over the last 30 years. However, beef consumption would be considered relatively low at 4kg per person per year, compared to 19kg per person in Ireland.
More fodder crises will hit farmers unless a system is established to monitor feed levels nationwide, Fianna Fáil warns.
Thursday had been tipped to host a mini-heatwave this week, but now forecasters say the temperatures on Friday could go even higher again.
Liquidators have been appointed to the company behind Castleblayney Mart in Co Monaghan.
Burglars who target family homes face tougher sentences of not less than two years and up to more than 10 years in prison.
FOUR seasons in one week is on the way as forecasters predict strong spring sunshine giving way to more rain.
The Irish dairy industry continues to be the EU leader in terms of investment in milk processing facilities.
A residential farm extending to 55ac at Springfield, Ballacolla, Co Laois is for sale by public auction with a guide price of €10,000 an acre.
Restricted access to penning areas at marts looks set to become the "new norm", as marts in the north-west of the country lead the way in bringing in new health and safety measures.
A €100m export market for frozen Irish beef in China may be just the tip of the iceberg as consumption is growing rapidly among the expanding Asian middle class.
Emergency services in Tipperary are fighting a fire in a local mart.
Irish butchers proved they were a cut above international competition recently when they were crowned overall winners at the World Butcher Challenge in Belfast.
A supermarket is to introduce touch-free packaging to help squeamish millennials who are afraid to touch raw meat before cooking it.
A farming family, who was left devastated after their beloved sheepdog was in the back of a jeep when it was robbed last week, have been reunited with their precious pet.
Lamb prices in Northern Ireland were up by some 28pc in March, according to latest figures from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).
Argentina’s herd will shrink by up to 1 million head of cattle next year as ranchers facing scorched pastures after the worst drought in decades decide to slaughter females rather than grow their herds, analysts said.
Spring barley growers have control over all the elements of growing spring barley, all but price and weather, so focus on what you can influence inside the field gate.
Irish MEP Sean Kelly has said that most Irish farmers are ignoring a huge new market for their produce by turning their backs on organic farming.
Pesticides have been detected in drinking water sources in Co. Longford.
A traditional style farmhouse and yard on 46 acres at Gortnabarna, Ballykisteen Walk, Co Tipperary, is for sale by public auction later this month with a guide price of between €400,000 and €450,000.
Watch how emergency crews respond to a farm accident in Meath, where a bale has fallen on top of a tractor.
The opening of the Chinese beef market to exports from Ireland has been confirmed.
It will be a wet and windy start to the day but Ireland is set to enjoy a burst of heat this week with temperatures rising to 18C degrees.
It's getting to the point where some hard decisions are going to have to be made. Plans that were hatched last autumn, were revised last winter, were revised in early spring and will have to be revised again.
"Fast" tractors that are being used for agricultural activities will be excluded from new regulations, introducing an NCT for vehicles that can travel over 40kmh.
Three generations of Hereford breeding on a County Offaly farm continues to reap rewards for the Cill Cormaic Pedigree Herd as the aptly named 'Prince' delivered again.
"Are ye going to see the Pope?"
Lucas Strom, who runs a century-old family farm in rural Illinois, canceled an order to buy a new $71,000 grain storage bin last month - after the seller raised the price 5 percent in a day.
A 62ac residential tillage and grass farm with a period house and the remnants of a traditional farmyard was recently sold in several lots by Birr auctioneer John Ryan for a total of €420,000.
I've a confession to make. I've spent a good bit of time browsing porn into the small hours over the last month. Car-porn that is.
The founder of The Little Pharma, which produces and sells fresh barley and wheatgrass juice shots says growing barley and wheatgrass presents real opportunities for farming partners
Burglars who target family homes face tougher sentences of not less than two years and up to more than 10 years in prison.
It's always great fun when RTE goes down the country to meet farmers. It is a tradition stretching back to the times when RTE "personalities" really were creatures of the most outrageous glamour to the people of rural Ireland, when a star of the magnitude of Bunny Carr would come to town and the people would go mad.
Farmers in the west of Ireland are paying up to €40/bale - four times the usual price, while one knackery yard has reported that animals are starving to death in 'alarming' numbers.
A Georgian period house on 150ac is for sale by private treaty in the heart of the Golden Vale with a guide price in excess of €2m.
Farmers lucky enough to be in parts of the country where grass is starting to grow now face a different challenge - soft ground is the latest barrier in letting livestock access grass.
"If you're not changing, you're standing still and eventually going backwards." This philosophy is what drove dairy farmer Patrick Traynor's decision 10 years ago to expand his dairy herd.
For suckler farmer Andrew O'Carroll planting forestry was a route to ensuring his farm's survival.
Layers of squirming black soldier fly larvae fill large aluminum bins stacked 10-high in a warehouse outside of Vancouver. They are feeding on stale bread, rotting mangoes, overripe cantaloupe and squishy zucchini.
It took Bridget Murphy two years to re-acclimatise to the wet and windy hills of the West of Ireland when she arrived "home for a visit" from South Africa in 1998.
The board of LacPatrick Dairies has set a price for March milk.
BANKS and credit institutions have been urged to take an understanding and reasonable approach to farm loans and overdrafts.
While welcoming the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) in the food supply chain ICOS National Marts said it must must also address meat factories.
Long-suffering Irish farmers are set to suffer a little longer from the wind and rain though hope - and a little sunshine and warm weather - is hovering on the horizon.
Most farmers are unaware that healthy animals may be a source of infection for themselves or family members.
There is a guide price of €700,000 for a non-residential farm of 120ac in Ballinacor, Moyvore, Mullingar, Co Westmeath which is coming up for public auction on Thursday, April 26.
The Board of Ornua has announced the appointment of John Jordan as Chief Executive Designate.
There is less than six weeks to go now until the closing date for submitting applications for the 2018 BPS, the deadline is Tuesday 15 May 2018.
Farms and small businesses that straddle the Irish border could be given tax-free status, the Brexit Secretary has said.
Irish farming needs to adapt to the challenges of sustainable production and climate change, Dairygold CEO Jim Woulfe has warned.
This year is shaping up as one that will be deeply etched in farmers' memories for all the wrong reasons.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration may allow the sale of gasoline containing 15pc ethanol year-round, which could help farmers by firing up corn demand but faces opposition from Big Oil.
Farmers who burned land in 2017 will be eligible for future payments, including in 2018, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has said.
Rearing calves requires a high level of management, particularly in the first couple of weeks. As a rule of thumb a calf must gain 0.7kg every day on your farm to reach target weaning weight at 12 weeks.
WARMER weather will bring some welcome relief for winter-weary Ireland with temperatures rising to the high teens next week.
Farmers have been urged to take care of their mental health in the same way they would their physical well-being.
Given the tight margins in beef production, anything that erodes them should be avoided or minimised.
The Department of Culture and Heritage has this week said that they are not responsible for controlling red deer following calls from farmers in south Kerry last week for help.
Glanbia will hold its March milk price for members at 33 cent per litre (cpl) including VAT.
Judge David Waters had said that 'expert evidence' is needed before he can make a decision on exactly how loud a crow-banger was in a civil case over a device being used by a Kilgarvan farmer to protect his livestock.
Farewell to the winter and spring from hell. That wasn’t a lot of fun. We all have our stories to tell and it will live long in my memory.
As a compulsory part of second semester, Agricultural Science students in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) have to complete 15 weeks work placement. Jamie Doran .
Excessive use of insecticides and proposed changes to the laws regarding hedge cutting will cause further depletion of our declining bee population, bee expert Philip McCabe has warned.
The development of a protocol between the Department of Agriculture, BVD testing laboratories and tag supply companies, will offset some of the difficulties associated with empty BVD samples for farmers, according to IFA Animal Health Chairman Pat Farrell.
Lakeland Dairies has cut its March milk price by 2.5c/L, but announced that it will "balance a reduction in the March milk price with a payment to support milk producers during the current very poor milk production conditions caused by bad weather and the fodder crisis".
More than 30 cows believed to be valued at over £30,000 (€34,466) have been stolen from a border community in two separate incidents in recent weeks.
A farmer down to his last bale of silage says worries about the welfare of his animals are always at the back of his mind.
Weather and grass considerations continue to affect the mart trade as those with stock to sell appear to be holding back on numbers thus far.
The European Commission will announce a series of measures on Thursday to protect small European farmers and food producers from what it says are unfair trading practices by larger corporations.
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