DAERA move to Ballykelly House

DAERA’s new headquarters in Ballykelly is to be named Ballykelly House, with the first 240 staff to be relocated to the site by mid-April. The new building will have capacity for 600 staff and comes with a capital cost of £21.5m and an associated staff cost of £11.8m. Plans for the relocation from Dundonald House in Belfast to the former military site in Ballykelly were first announced in September 2012, as part of a decentralisation programme, by the then agriculture minister Michelle O’Neill.

Fire leaves fodder short

A fire at a social farm near Omagh last week destroyed silage, hay and straw stocks and has left a significant fodder shortage.

Camphill Community Clanabogan is home to adults with learning disabilities. There are 18 Shorthorn dairy cows milking on the farm with all calves either kept for replacements or beef.

No one was injured in the fire last week and all livestock were safely evacuated.

“I think I have sourced some straw locally, so it’s just fodder we need as we only have enough to do us three or four weeks.

‘‘It is usually towards the end of April before we get cows out to grass so we are well short,” Seamus McCrossan from Camphill said.

Anyone who has extra fodder available or can help Camphill Community Clanabogan source fodder can contact Seamus on 07763659136.

Concern over DAERA resources for Brexit

Senior staff in DAERA have discussed a potential lack of resources to deal with Brexit. The discussion is outlined in the minutes of a departmental board meeting at the end of January.

“Concern that there potentially could be a risk of an overall lack of resources, depending on how negotiations progress, was noted,” the minutes of the meeting read. But officials also noted that just how well positioned the Department actually is, should be known by the end of March.