Latest news with #DAERA
Agriland
4 hours ago
- Business
- Agriland
Deadline looming for NI farmers to use up old ID tags
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland (DAERA) is reminding all livestock keepers they have less than four weeks to use any remaining stocks of 'UK' prefixed livestock identification (ID) tags that they hold. From the June 30, 2025 only 'XI' prefixed tags can be used to identify newborn cattle, sheep, and goats. A DAERA spokesperson said: 'DAERA facilitated a 12-month transitional period to allow livestock keepers time to use up stocks of 'UK' prefixed livestock tags. 'However, this transitional period will end soon and from June 30, 2025, any unused 'UK' prefixed tags will become obsolete and keepers will not be able to use them to identify their animals.' DAERA continues to recommend that 'XI' prefixed tags are applied to newborn animals that may be exported to outside the UK in the future. Otherwise, they may have to be re-identified prior to export. There is no requirement to re-identify animals with 'XI' tags, if identified in Northern Ireland, with 'UK' tags prior to June 30, 2025, if they will remain in the UK. However, livestock keepers, will need to check the identification requirements for animals destined for the EU, which is available on the DAERA website. The change to the prefix code on livestock tags, which is a legal requirement under EU Animal Health Law, will ensure continued unfettered access to both EU and UK internal markets for NI livestock and agri-food products. DAERA has stated that this is subject to normal export eligibility requirements. Since June 24, 2024: All new cattle tags issued in NI begin with 'XI 0', replacing 'UK 9'. This will allow the whole tag number to be encoded on electronic identification devices in future; All new sheep tags issued in NI begin with XI 17 replacing 'UK 17'. From June 30, 2025, all sheep being exported to the Republic of Ireland must be identified with 'XI' tags prior to their export,. This includes any previously identified with 'UK' tags with the re-identification being recorded in the flock register. Keepers may wish to consider identifying all sheep going to market with 'XI' tags to ensure they are eligible for purchase for export. However, cattle identified with 'UK' tags prior to June 30, 2025 can still be exported to Ireland after this date without being re-identified with 'XI' tags. Currently all livestock exported to continental Europe must be identified with 'XI' tags prior to their export. Any such animals previously tagged with 'UK' tags must be re-identified with 'XI' tags. For cattle, this must be done under veterinary supervision.
Agriland
3 days ago
- Health
- Agriland
NI brucellosis compensation rates for June 2025
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published the brucellosis compensation rates for Northern Ireland for June 2025. Farmers are compensated for losses if animals have to be slaughtered under DAERA's brucellosis prevention and eradication control programme. The compensation payable, for reactors and negative in contacts for which notice of intended slaughter is issued in June 2025 will be either: 75% of the animal's market value; 75% of £2,632 (75% of £2,932 in the case of pedigree animals). Valuations on animals are carried out by a DAERA livestock valuation officer and, in the case of a disagreement over the DAERA valuation, a second individual valuation is carried out by an independent valuer. DAERA Separately DAERA has advised that from Sunday (June 1) bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) herd restrictions are being introduced for herds with animals over 30-days-old that have not been tested for BVD. New BVD legislation, which came into force in Northern Ireland on February 1, 2025, introduced a number of BVD control measures in a phased manner. Initially targeting herds with positive animals these measures will now be extended from Sunday to introduce movement restrictions on herds with animals over 30 days old that have not been tested for BVD. These measures will initially be applied if there are 20 or more untested animals in a herd, with the threshold for the application of restrictions being reduced over the next 12 months. Herd restrictions will prohibit all moves into the herd, and all moves out except to direct slaughter or for disposal. The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, has warned that in Northern Ireland there are a 'small cohort of farmers that are not testing all their animals for BVD on time, some of which may be infected with the virus, therefore posing a risk to their herd and to other herds.' The minister said: 'I therefore urge all farmers to test their calves promptly and test any BVDU status cattle in their herd either by using a supplementary ear tag or through blood sampling carried out by their own vet. 'Only through the concerted efforts of all livestock keepers will we continue to make progress towards the eradication of this disease in Northern Ireland.'
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
MP: ‘Farmers have been crippled by bureaucracy'
The DUP's agriculture spokesperson, Carla Lockhart has called for the Department of Agriculture, Enterprise and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to engage with industry over the Nutrients Action Plan (NAP). Speaking at the NAP information event at the Greenmount Campus, Co. Antrim this week (May 2025), the MP said the Minister for Agriculture, Enterprise and Rural affairs, Andrew Muir is 'not willing to face farmers or listen to their concerns'. She said: 'These proposals will decimate the very cornerstone of our economy. The gross output from NI agriculture is worth £2.87 billion (€3.4 billion), but the minister is on course to destroy it. 'Potentially, NAP will have a bigger impact on family farms than inheritance tax. The minister risks leaving a trail of destruction as a lasting legacy of his term at the helm of DAERA.' 'The message is clear, the proposals are unacceptable and unachievable. Tensions are running high, farmers are being pushed to the brink, and the meeting is a nail in the coffin for the NAP proposals,' Lockhart added. MP Carla Lockhart The DUP MP said she supports farmers, and that she will continue to speak out against the NAP proposals. 'Farmers work 365 days a year to put fully traceable and nutritious food on our tables, yet they have been crippled by bureaucracy and used as scapegoats for far too long. Enough is enough,' Lockhart said. 'The livelihoods of over 3,500 farm businesses are at stake, especially those in the dairy, pig and poultry sectors,' she claimed. According to the MP, civil servants should go out and visit farms to 'witness' the daily struggles faced by the farming community. She explained: 'Farmers are custodians of the land and vital for thriving rural communities. They are not shying away from their environmental responsibilities. The general consensus is that NAP is disproportionate and severely out of touch with reality 'I stand united with farmers and the wider agri-food supply chain as they call for a stop to the NAP consultation. It's time to refocus and go back to the drawing board.' 'The figures are questionable and we've heard very little in the way of credible answers today. DAERA needs to stop flying solo and learn to engage with stakeholders and farmers who are the experts on the ground,' she added.
Agriland
5 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Funding call for NI Food Strategy Framework
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir has announced a funding call for applications to increase awareness, embed and support the implementation of the NI Food Strategy Framework and the Food Action Plan. Applications are invited from not-for-profit organisations, registered charities and local authorities. Funding will be provided through a new second strand of the NI Regional Food Programme. Welcoming the opening of the programme, Minister Muir said: 'Collaboration will be key to the delivery of the Food Action Plan. 'I am therefore delighted to seek proposals from organisations interested in bringing the action plan to life. 'I would encourage stakeholders to consider the actions they can take that will ensure that our food positively impacts on the health of our people, our planet and of our future prosperity. 'This funding call is a significant step towards the implementation of the [Stormont] Executive's Food Strategy Framework Action Plan.' NI Food Strategy Framework Applications are now open for projects taking place from July 15, 2025 to March 31, 2026, and must be submitted by 4:00p.m on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. A total fund of up to £250,000 is available which may be awarded to one or more projects. Applications for funding must complement the Stormont Executive's Food Strategy Framework, published by Minister Muir in November 2024. They must also detail how they will contribute to increasing awareness among stakeholders of the Food Action Plan's three missions: Mission One – to use food to improve lifelong health and wellbeing; Mission Two – to support environmentally sustainable, safe and ethical agri-food supply chains; Mission Three – to further develop sustainable economic prosperity within the agri-food sector. Projects should also seek to build capacity among stakeholders to take steps that help deliver these missions, according to the department. Successful applications to Strand Two of the programme can obtain up to 80% financial contributions on eligible project expenditure for projects embedding and supporting the implementation of the NI Food Strategy Framework and the Food Action Plan. Scheme rules mean that only not-for-profit groups with a Northern Ireland membership, registered charities or not-for-profit regional development agencies that plan to deliver projects that raise the profile of NI regional food can apply. Applications for collaborative ventures involving two or more eligible organisations working together to deliver the objectives of the programme are also allowed.
Agriland
7 days ago
- Health
- Agriland
NI BVD restrictions to target herds with untested animals from June
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Andrew Muir, is advising herd keepers that from June 1, 2025 bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) herd restrictions are being introduced for herds with animals over 30-days-old that have not been tested for BVD. BVD is a highly contagious disease which reduces the productivity and profitability of affected herds, as well as compromising animal welfare. It is mainly spread by persistently infected (PI) cattle, which are born with the disease, having come into contact with the virus in the womb. The virus can spread by other routes, including transiently infected cattle, which produce less virus for two to three weeks, after which they recover. In March 2016, DAERA introduced legislation which requires herd keepers to tag and test all newborn calves for BVD. This legislation is being implemented by the industry body Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI). At the end of September 2024, herd level incidence was 2.43% (for the 12 months from October 1, 2023) representing a decrease of 74% from the end of the first year of the programme. Animal incidence was 0.201%. On February 1, 2025, new BVD legislation came into force which gives DAERA powers to apply herd restrictions to herds with BVD positive or inconclusive animals, and to herds with animals of unknown BVD status. Today (Wednesday, May 28) Minister Muir said: 'BVD is a serious and highly contagious endemic disease of cattle, which significantly compromises animal health. 'I am pleased that most farmers appreciate the impact this disease has on productivity and profitability and are therefore acting promptly to reduce the risks to their herds. 'There are, however, a small cohort of farmers that are not testing all their animals for BVD on time, some of which may be infected with the virus, therefore posing a risk to their herd and to other herds. 'No herds need to be restricted because of untested animals if herd keepers comply with existing legal requirements and ensure all their animals are promptly tested for BVD,' the minister added. He has urged all farmers to test their calves promptly and test any BVDU status cattle in their herd either by using a supplementary ear tag or through blood sampling carried out by their own vet. 'Only through the concerted efforts of all livestock keepers will we continue to make progress towards the eradication of this disease in Northern Ireland,' Minister Muir added. The new BVD legislation, which came into force in February, introduced a number of BVD control measures in a phased manner. Initially targeting herds with positive animals, measures are now being ramped up from June 1, 2025 to introduce movement restrictions on herds with animals over 30-days-old that have not been tested for BVD. These measures will initially be applied if there are 20 or more untested animals in a herd, with the threshold for the application of restrictions being reduced over the next 12 months. BVD Under the BVD Eradication Scheme Order (NI) 2016, herd keepers are required to sample all calves within 20 days of birth as well as any bovines that enter a herd without a negative BVD status. Animals that test positive must be isolated to prevent direct or indirect contact with other susceptible animals. Movement restrictions will be applied to herds with animals of unknown status (BVDUs) that have not had a BVD test. These restrictions will be rolled out on a phased basis over a 12-month period as follows: From June 1, 2025 herd restrictions will be applied to any herd with 20 or more BVDU animals over 30-days-old; From December 1, 2025 herd restrictions will be applied to any herd with 10 or more BVDU animals over 30-days-old; From June 1, 2026 herd restrictions will be applied to any herd with five or more BVDU animals over 30-days-old. Keepers will be advised in advance if they will be subject to these restrictions and can avoid them if they ensure all animals within their herd have a valid BVD test result, according to DAERA. Herd restrictions will prohibit all moves into the herd, and all moves out except to direct slaughter or for disposal. Where BVDU herd restrictions are applied, the same restrictions will also be applied to associated herds, which are herds linked on NIFAIS due to common disease risks.
