Issues around the delay in delivery of BVD samples to labs have been resolved, according to An Post.

Lab managers told the Irish Farmers Journal that they had been experiencing problems since the snowfall in early March. Days would go by without any samples being delivered and then a large batch would arrive.

“We certainly had issues around the [snow] storm and the aftermath. Not saying the two are connected, there was a backlog of problems, but they’ve been tackled and are back to normal,” said An Post spokesperson Angus Laverty. “We would certainly encourage anyone who is having any issues to contact our 01-7057600 customer service number.”

IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell said the approach adopted by An Post with some BVD samples is unacceptable. However, he added the substantive issue that must be resolved as a matter of urgency by AHI in the BVD programme is the ongoing problems farmers are experiencing with empty samples.

The cost of postage on BVD samples rose with new An Post charges for 2018. It now costs €1.80 to send up to 10 samples.

BDGP tags

Meanwhile, some suckler farmers are experiencing delivery delays of genotyping tags, with reports of three to four week delays in issuing.

IFA livestock chair Angus Woods said: “This is the third year of the BDGP scheme and it is high time that the Department and ICBF resolved the issue of late tags. There is no good reason why tags cannot be issued earlier to facilitate farmers.”