A scheme worth £12m, which will provide loans at commercial terms to cover up to 40% of the cost of building demonstrator plants to process poultry litter, has been announced by Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill.

The scheme is the latest part of a long-term plan to develop sustainable solutions to the problem of poultry litter in NI.

In simple terms, there is just not enough arable land available in NI to take all the litter produced by local poultry sheds. Concerns about botulism mean land spreading on grassland is not seen as a viable option.

Also in the background is the European Commission, adamant that expansion of the intensive sector must not have a detrimental impact on water quality.

Finding a practical solution to the problem of poultry litter came to the fore in December 2012, when planning permission was declined for an incinerator plant proposed by Rose Energy outside Glenavy.

In response, a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition was opened to try to find alternative solutions.

Phase I of the competition attracted nine projects from eight different companies who were given six months to prove their concept. That process concluded at the end of 2013.

In the second phase announced this week, some of these companies are now being invited to build demonstrator plants that will test their commercial and technical viability.

This phase of the scheme is being administered by Invest NI.

O’Neill to retire from Moy Park

Tony O’Neill is to retire from the position of Moy Park marketing and business development director at the end of August. He plans to continue as chair of the NI Agri Food Strategy Board, a position that has raised his profile considerably over the past few years.

As the former managing director of O’Kane Poultry, Tony has played a key role in managing the sale of that business to Moy Park during the summer of 2010, after which he joined the Moy Park Executive leadership team as business development director.

Making the announcement, Janet McCollum, Moy Park CEO, referred to Tony’s commitment to Moy Park and expressed thanks for his valuable contribution to the business.

Farmers frustrated over ongoing issues with grid connection

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has written to NIE and the Utility Regulator to express farmers’ frustration with ongoing grid connection problems. UFU Rural Enterprise chairman, Gary Hawkes, said: “The situation is causing a real headache for farmers, especially since NIE continues to create a high degree of uncertainty as they issue an increasing number of conditional offers.”

According to the UFU, the application process leaves much to be desired, with farmers put into a queue, but with no indication how many people are ahead of them in that queue.

They have requested a meeting with NIE and the Utilities Regulator seeking to challenge the concept of conditional offers and how they are managed.

“There is an urgent need to improve the transparency of the grid connection process and we want to work with NIE on that. However, farmer patience is wearing thin,” said Hawkes.