Budget 2015

A full IFA analysis of how Budget 2015 affects agriculture and farm families is available on the IFA website, which includes a full report on Budget 2015 measures, along with analysis of the agri-taxation review and IFA reaction. Take a look at www.ifa.ie.

EU sheep meeting

IFA Sheep Committee chairman John Lynskey attended the EU Commission civil dialogue group meeting on sheepmeat in Brussels last week. The meeting indicated that reduced production in some member states, a strong live trade to North Africa and reduced imports from New Zealand point to positive prices for next year.

Wexford executive

Budget 2015 and forestry were on the agenda at a Wexford county executive meeting last week. IFA chief economist Rowena Dwyer spoke about IFA’s budget priorities and other economic issues, while IFA Farm Forestry Committee chair Michael Fleming discussed the proposed Forestry Bill and the IFA’s Forest Assessor service.

Livestock meeting

The IFA National Livestock Committee met on Monday this week. The meeting discussed the ongoing campaign to find a solution to the northern trade labelling issue and the need for a price increase to narrow the gap between Irish and British prices. Trade negotiations and producer organisations were discussed at the meeting.

Aquaculture

The Irish Shellfish Association celebrated 25 years working for oyster, mussel, clam and scallop producers at a conference organised by IFA Aquaculture in Dublin this week. The event addressed important issues for the Irish shellfish sector, including licensing, consumer safety, markets and challenges to production.