Singe Application workshops at CAFRE campuses

A series of workshops to assist farmers in completing the online 2018 Single Application Form for area-based payments are being held at CAFRE’s three campuses during March and April.

At Greenmount, events are taking place on 15 March, 29 March and 19 April. Enniskillen Campus is hosting workshops on 20 March, 10 April and 17 April.

One event has been arranged to take place at Loughry Campus on 12 April.

More dates and venues are to be confirmed.

Book your place

All events run from 6pm to 8pm and places can be booked in advance by calling 028 7131 9955.

DAERA gets financial reprieve

The NI budget brought forward by Secretary of State Karen Bradley in Westminster last week includes a 2.1% increase in DAERA’s resource budget taking it to £194.1m.

This makes better reading for DAERA officials than the proposed cuts outlined by the Department of Finance last December. Three potential budgets were presented, with the worst-case scenario for DAERA seeing cuts of 7% applied in 2018/19 and 12% in 2019/20.

In the end, DAERA is receiving an additional £4.1m, although that could be quickly mopped up by the TB eradication programme. Last month, DAERA chief vet Robert Huey said that it was £3.5m over budget, with the biggest cost being compensation for increased numbers of reactor animals.

RHI tariffs extended

The announcement by NI Secretary of State Karen Bradley that cost-cutting Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) tariffs will be extended for a further 12 months has been criticised by representatives from the farming and renewable sectors.

UFU chief executive Wesley Aston described the extension as “unacceptable” and said that farmers were paying the price for the failings of civil servants.

“This has already put a number of farm businesses, particularly in the poultry sector, under severe financial pressure. We have heard reports of farmers having to sell land, extend overdrafts or take out additional loans just to remain in business. Banks have been understanding, but there is no guarantee this will continue,” Aston said.

In a statement, the Renewable Heat Association for NI said that the Department for the Economy has not been engaging with RHI accredited boiler owners, even though plans for a consultation on future tariffs were outlined in January by the then permanent secretary Andrew McCormick.

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Full coverage: NI farming