Carmichael v Kelly for British Wool Marketing Board

Two local farmers, Brendan Kelly from Randalstown and Robert Carmichael from Dungiven, are to contest an election in NI to be appointed as the local representative on the board of the British Wool Marketing Board.

Voting papers will be sent to all registered producers on Thursday 18 January 2018, and must be returned by 6pm on Thursday 8 February 2018.

Vacancy

The vacancy in NI is to replace Dungiven farmer Ian Buchanan, who is soon to complete four, three-year terms on the board, and is therefore required to step down.

His last three years have been as chairman of the board. His tenure concludes at the end of March 2018.

BVD update to APHIS

The bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) status of animals tested from both the voluntary and compulsory phases of the BVD eradication programme are to be displayed on DAERA’s computer system, APHIS, from 12 February.

This will allow herd keepers to view the BVD status of animals on APHIS online or on a herd list from DAERA.

It will also notify mart staff if a BVD positive animal is brought to a mart and will allow movement restrictions to be imposed.

For cattle born after 1 March 2016, only animals that tested BVD negative can move either through a livestock market, directly into another herd, or be exported.

Restrictions

The same movement restrictions apply to cattle born before 1 March 2016 that have tested BVD positive or inconclusive, or are the dam of a persistently infected (PI) calf or the offspring of a PI.

NBA anger at Tesco claim

The chief executive of the National Beef Association (NBA), Chris Mallon, has hit out at Tesco for failing to support British beef farmers over the Christmas period.

According to Mallon, the NBA received reports that a number of Tesco stores across England had limited supplies of British beef on sale, instead favouring beef from the Republic of Ireland (ROI). When asked why, the NBA alleges that Tesco told customers it was because the Irish beef was of better quality.

“It is shameful for Tesco to blame the quality of British product for its absence on Tesco shelves. The real reason is its buying policy. ROI beef was a cheap substitute to British beef and therefore more appealing to Tesco red meat buyers,” said Mallon.

He described the suggestion that British beef was inferior to Irish as “a blatant lie”, and maintained that this example of a “cheapest first” policy could be potentially destructive to farming post-Brexit.