Skyrocketing levels of bovine TB have gobbled up half of the Department of Agriculture’s Budget 2026 funding boost of €170m.
The Department received €157m in Tuesday’s budget to cover bovine TB costs next year as the costs of the programme continue to swell. The cost of TB eradication this year is set to exceed €100m, compared to €37m six years ago.
“Our latest modelling anticipates 62,000 reactors next year,” Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon told the Irish Farmers Journal on budget day, adding that the €157m allocation will fully fund his commitments.
At 62,000, that would be the highest reactor levels since the 1960s. It would be a tripling of the number of cattle going down in herd tests since 2021.
Tillage suffers
The spiralling cost of TB means that just €30m has been allocated to the tillage support scheme, as the sector struggles with dull markets and poor prices.
There was disappointment at the absence of new funding for farm succession, although four taxation measures due to expire were extended out to 2029.
Fears of cuts to suckler and sheep scheme funding were allayed when €131m was announced for livestock.
The flat rate VAT addition for unregistered farmers falls from 5.1% to 4.5%, costing farmers over €60m.
SHARING OPTIONS