30 OCTOBER 2020

ICSA suckler chair Ger O’Brien has called on Minister McConalogue to extend the deadline for submitting dung samples under the BEEP-S scheme due to the unavailability of sampling kits. “The situation has become urgent; farmers have been unable to acquire the necessary kits in order to complete this requirement under the scheme. Likewise, labs are having difficulties processing the sheer volume of samples. The Department of Agriculture needs to give some leeway on this,” he said.

“ICSA has received reports from around the country on this issue and we do not want to see any farmers losing out as a result of hold-ups in the system.”

Mr O’Brien also called for clarity around the requirement for submitting meal feeding documents under the scheme. “ICSA understands that this is not a requirement for all BEEP-S participants and applies only to farmers who have received a specific instruction to submit such documentation. However, the issue is causing much confusion amongst farmers and requires further clarification from the Department.”

ENDS