The Dealer was bemused by the bill received by a northeast farmer for taking part in a Teagasc-facilitated knowledge transfer (KT) group.

The farmer, who is not a Teagasc client, chose to join a local KT group facilitated by Teagasc because his own private agricultural adviser was not a KT-approved facilitator.

Knowing that the Teagasc facilitator is being paid €500 per group participant for each year of the scheme by the Department of Agriculture, the farmer was surprised to receive a bill for €145 from Teagasc.

On querying the bill, he was told Teagasc would help him with his BPS application and he would receive Teagasc newsletters in return for the €145 fee. When he informed Teagasc that he did not want BPS help or newsletters, the farmer was told the €145 bill still stood and that all members of Teagasc-facilitated groups must be paid-up members of Teagasc.

It seems strange that a farmer can join a KT group facilitated by a private agricultural adviser for no fee but must pay Teagasc €145 for the privilege. That’s on top of the €500 per farmer per year that Teagasc will receive from the Department of Agriculture.