ICSA’s Life Focus group will host a farmer gathering on Sunday 14 April at the Castletown Geoghegan Community Hall in Castletown Geoghegan, Co Westmeath, Eircode N91 NV0T. The gathering will commence at 7.30pm.

ICSA Beef chair John Cleary has slammed the proposal to reduce the nutrient excretion rates of heifers while increasing the rates for male cattle as part of the interim review of the Nitrates Action Programme. “As an organisation representing drystock farmers we believe these changes are fundamentally unfair and biased. It appears to us to be no more than a deliberate manoeuvre to skew nitrates data in favour of one sector at the expense of another,” he said.

ICSA president Sean McNamara has welcomed the opening of the National Sheep Welfare Scheme but said the October date for completion of the necessary actions needs to be pushed back. “Setting a mid-October deadline is highly impractical for hill sheep farmers, as their livestock will still be out grazing on the mountains at that time. To fulfil the required actions, ewes would need to be brought down from the mountains, a task typically not undertaken until late October and into November,” he said.

ICSA president Sean McNamara has welcomed the decision by the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, to suspend non-essential farm inspections until April 22. “This move, at least, signals an acknowledgment from the Department of Agriculture regarding the significant challenges farmers are facing due to adverse weather conditions. However, we also want an assurance that any inspections that do go ahead will take these adverse conditions into account,” he said.

ICSA president Sean McNamara has said the convening of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) tomorrow must kick start an emergency response to the ongoing difficulties facing farmers amidst continuing heavy rainfall. “With any hope of an early spring well and truly dashed and any fodder reserves dwindling fast it is clear this committee needs to rapidly reassess the current situation on the ground, including the extent of the fodder shortages and the impact of continued wet weather on farming operations,” he said.

ICSA Beef chair John Cleary has said while any investment in improving the calibre of dairy beef calves is to be welcomed, the newly announced Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme (DBWS) ignores the elephant in the room that too many farmers are still using Jersey/Kiwi cow genetics for their herd. “Dairy farmers who use sexed semen are doubling down on producing dairy cows that simply won’t be able to produce high merit beef calves,” he said.

ICSA president Sean McNamara has wished ICSA general secretary Eddie Punch every success following the announcement that he is to step down from the role he has held for 25 years to run as an Independent candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections.

ICSA Animal Health and Welfare chair Hugh Farrell has expressed his ongoing frustration with the Department of Agriculture over its handling of the TB Eradication Programme. “At the TB Forum there is a constant focus on asking farmers to do more, while at the same time the Department is continuing to fail farmers with its underwhelming wildlife programme.

ICSA STATEMENT ON NITRATES DIRECTIVE AT JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE