A new video produced by the UK’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is being used to promote the future British farm policy after Brexit, as introduced by last week’s agricultural bill.
Unfortunately, the eagle-eyed Farmers Weekly spotted an image of a slurry spreader on a German farm and an inspector in a Slovenian cattle shed being used to illustrate the future of UK farming.
You could hardly find more committed EU member states.
I did a bit more research myself, after identifying distinctly Irish weather on a picture of cows in the mist used to communicate the dates of the transition away from direct payments.
The foggy pasture happens to be in Northern Ireland – which is arguably part of the UK – but farm policy is largely devolved, and the bill’s provisions on direct payments apply to England only.
Anthrax arrives from Brazil
Irish cattle exporters can only watch in frustration as Turkish authorities draw up new controls on cattle imports from South America. This is after it emerged that 4,000 bulls imported from Brazil by Turkey’s state buying agency were infected with anthrax.
“It should be our opportunity to export more weanlings there, but currency problems have scuppered the trade, for now anyway,” one exporter told The Dealer.
Reports from Turkey are that importation of the cattle was rushed to be in time for the big Eid al-Adha religious festival in August, but lab tests hadn’t been completed.
Anthrax is dangerous to humans and, tragically, it has been reported that one child died after being infected and over 100 have been hospitalised.
Going high to keep the price low
The Dealer was pleased to attend the awards ceremony for the 2018 Innovation Arena on Monday night, where Mayo company AgriSpread was announced as the overall winner of the Enterprise Ireland-run innovation awards.
However, The Dealer nearly choked on his glass of malbec at one point in the proceedings when James Maloney, who manages the Innovation Arena at Enterprise Ireland, told the audience he reckoned he should award himself the top prize for innovation for his clever idea to build the first ever two-storey marquee at the Ploughing.
The shrewd Laoisman noted how the National Ploughing Association (NPA) only charged on a square foot basis for a stand at the Ploughing, so building a second storey would double the space on Enterprise Ireland’s stand at no extra charge from the NPA.
Needless to say, the NPA and Anna May, who was sitting at the top table, will be reviewing its pricing structure for next year.
Anna May McHugh and in the background James Maloney of Enterprise Ireland. \ Ramona Farrelly
Bedding concerns for Teagasc
The Dealer overheard that Teagasc decided late on Monday to stop the distribution of more than 10,000 leaflets at the grazing and feed demonstration on its Ploughing stand.
I understand this was due to the inclusion of details on peat bedding as an option for livestock farmers – seemingly not environmentally friendly enough due to associated carbon emissions. On the upside, shredding the 10,000 leaflets might be a more renewable option for bedding.
Two Ploughing exhibitors selling peat bedding reported a flying start to the season. In the south, Peat Bedding has seen sales go up 30% on last year from its bases in Wicklow and Cork – though they don’t know yet if farmers are buying more, or just earlier.
Co Monaghan-based Peat Bed has harvested more than twice the usual amount of peat to face rising demand, with both companies saying farmers are drawn to the product by high straw prices.
McGrath says farewell to Brussels
To call something the end of an era is an often overused cliché, but how else can you describe the retirement of Anne McGrath from the IFA’s Brussels office?
Anne, a Dub, joined the IFA in 1982, less than 10 years after Ireland’s accession to the EEC. From 1989 until 2014, she supported Michael Treacy as the pair built the influence of the IFA, and indeed Irish farming, with the European Commission and within the European Parliament.
Liam McHale, the IFA’s s current Brussels office director, said: “In a city built on reputations, Anne has few equals.” All Irish farmers owe her a debt of gratitude.
Mairead McGuinness MEP. \ Barry Cronin
The Ploughing attracts people from all over Europe. A group from the European Parliament, including 15 MEPs from the influential agricultural committee, had intended to attend on Wednesday. With those hopes dashed, an impromptu visit to Tullamore Farm was provided for the MEPs – among them Mairead McGuinness, Matt Carthy and Ulster Unionist MEP David Nicholson. This on a day when Michel Barnier defined further progress in Brexit talks. Not so bad.
Saturday sees the FarmAid concert take place for the 34th consecutive year.
It does so against the backdrop of hurricane Florence, a more destructive cousin of our own storm Ali, and in an economic climate described by John Mellencamp as worse than the 1980s when a quarter of family farms in the US were wiped out.
Tune in online, and let’s hope the weather is better in Hartford Connecticut than it has been in Tullamore.
A new video produced by the UK’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is being used to promote the future British farm policy after Brexit, as introduced by last week’s agricultural bill.
Unfortunately, the eagle-eyed Farmers Weekly spotted an image of a slurry spreader on a German farm and an inspector in a Slovenian cattle shed being used to illustrate the future of UK farming.
You could hardly find more committed EU member states.
I did a bit more research myself, after identifying distinctly Irish weather on a picture of cows in the mist used to communicate the dates of the transition away from direct payments.
The foggy pasture happens to be in Northern Ireland – which is arguably part of the UK – but farm policy is largely devolved, and the bill’s provisions on direct payments apply to England only.
Anthrax arrives from Brazil
Irish cattle exporters can only watch in frustration as Turkish authorities draw up new controls on cattle imports from South America. This is after it emerged that 4,000 bulls imported from Brazil by Turkey’s state buying agency were infected with anthrax.
“It should be our opportunity to export more weanlings there, but currency problems have scuppered the trade, for now anyway,” one exporter told The Dealer.
Reports from Turkey are that importation of the cattle was rushed to be in time for the big Eid al-Adha religious festival in August, but lab tests hadn’t been completed.
Anthrax is dangerous to humans and, tragically, it has been reported that one child died after being infected and over 100 have been hospitalised.
Going high to keep the price low
The Dealer was pleased to attend the awards ceremony for the 2018 Innovation Arena on Monday night, where Mayo company AgriSpread was announced as the overall winner of the Enterprise Ireland-run innovation awards.
However, The Dealer nearly choked on his glass of malbec at one point in the proceedings when James Maloney, who manages the Innovation Arena at Enterprise Ireland, told the audience he reckoned he should award himself the top prize for innovation for his clever idea to build the first ever two-storey marquee at the Ploughing.
The shrewd Laoisman noted how the National Ploughing Association (NPA) only charged on a square foot basis for a stand at the Ploughing, so building a second storey would double the space on Enterprise Ireland’s stand at no extra charge from the NPA.
Needless to say, the NPA and Anna May, who was sitting at the top table, will be reviewing its pricing structure for next year.
Anna May McHugh and in the background James Maloney of Enterprise Ireland. \ Ramona Farrelly
Bedding concerns for Teagasc
The Dealer overheard that Teagasc decided late on Monday to stop the distribution of more than 10,000 leaflets at the grazing and feed demonstration on its Ploughing stand.
I understand this was due to the inclusion of details on peat bedding as an option for livestock farmers – seemingly not environmentally friendly enough due to associated carbon emissions. On the upside, shredding the 10,000 leaflets might be a more renewable option for bedding.
Two Ploughing exhibitors selling peat bedding reported a flying start to the season. In the south, Peat Bedding has seen sales go up 30% on last year from its bases in Wicklow and Cork – though they don’t know yet if farmers are buying more, or just earlier.
Co Monaghan-based Peat Bed has harvested more than twice the usual amount of peat to face rising demand, with both companies saying farmers are drawn to the product by high straw prices.
McGrath says farewell to Brussels
To call something the end of an era is an often overused cliché, but how else can you describe the retirement of Anne McGrath from the IFA’s Brussels office?
Anne, a Dub, joined the IFA in 1982, less than 10 years after Ireland’s accession to the EEC. From 1989 until 2014, she supported Michael Treacy as the pair built the influence of the IFA, and indeed Irish farming, with the European Commission and within the European Parliament.
Liam McHale, the IFA’s s current Brussels office director, said: “In a city built on reputations, Anne has few equals.” All Irish farmers owe her a debt of gratitude.
Mairead McGuinness MEP. \ Barry Cronin
The Ploughing attracts people from all over Europe. A group from the European Parliament, including 15 MEPs from the influential agricultural committee, had intended to attend on Wednesday. With those hopes dashed, an impromptu visit to Tullamore Farm was provided for the MEPs – among them Mairead McGuinness, Matt Carthy and Ulster Unionist MEP David Nicholson. This on a day when Michel Barnier defined further progress in Brexit talks. Not so bad.
Saturday sees the FarmAid concert take place for the 34th consecutive year.
It does so against the backdrop of hurricane Florence, a more destructive cousin of our own storm Ali, and in an economic climate described by John Mellencamp as worse than the 1980s when a quarter of family farms in the US were wiped out.
Tune in online, and let’s hope the weather is better in Hartford Connecticut than it has been in Tullamore.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: