Warnings issued on acorn poisoning

Cattle and sheep farmers have been warned to stay alert to the threat of acorn poisoning during the autumn and winter months. This follows reports that a Welsh farmer has lost over 30 sheep to acorn toxicity.

CVS Farm Vets in NI have advised farmers to fence off oak trees or avoid grazing areas with heavy acorn fall.

Acorns and oak leaves contain phenols and tannins, which are toxic when ingested in sufficient quantities. There is no cure and green acorns are particularly high in toxicity.

Ingestion can cause ulceration in the mouth and intestines of livestock. Exposure may also lead to kidney damage and death.

Second stage of NIFAIS to go live

The NI Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS) will be unavailable to farmer users from 4pm on Saturday to Monday 6 October 2025 to allow for the second stage of a switchover of data from APHIS.

The first stage, which involved all cattle records, went live in September 2023. The latest update involves information on remaining species, including sheep, pigs, and poultry.

To facilitate the migration of data, both systems need to be taken offline for all users from 4pm on Saturday 4 October.

It means that mart operators with sales this Saturday will need to ensure all animals are moved in prior to the 4pm deadline and any exports scheduled for Saturday evening have the paperwork generated in advance. Markets, abattoirs and exporters will have limited access to NIFAIS on Sunday 5 October to allow processing of urgent moves.

£250,000 to develop solutions for layer manure

DAERA has made up to £250,000 available to develop sustainable solutions for managing layer poultry manure in NI. The main aim is to reduce surplus phosphorus getting into waterways, with five companies awarded up to £50,000 each from the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI). Projects are expected to be completed by March 2026.

Highly variable UK harvest, report AHDB

With the UK cereal harvest virtually complete, the final harvest report of 2025 from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has highlighted it has been an “extremely challenging” period, mainly on the back of price declines throughout the year.

Across the UK, average yields of wheat, barley and oilseed rape are up on 2024 figures, but behind the 10-year average. In the case of wheat, the average 2025 yield was 7.6t/ha, compared to 7.3t in 2024, but behind the long-term average of 8.1t/ha. Oats were the only crop to see yields down on 2024 levels.