Cavan, Longford and Roscommon have been added to a group of counties that can avail of the Government’s Fodder Transport Scheme, according to the ICSA.

“Following a persistent campaign by ICSA officials in these counties, we have now received confirmation the scheme is fully operational in Cavan, Longford and Roscommon,” ICSA Cavan chair Hugh Farrell said.

“Teagasc officials are now satisfied that there are insufficient fodder supplies locally to meet the demand and therefore it must be transported in from another part of the country,” he said.

The fodder scheme was introduced by the Department of Agriculture after a Teagasc survey of farm fodder budgets revealed that a large number of farmers in the north and northwest of the country would be short of fodder.

However, the scheme has been mired in controversy, as the Department last week stated that the scheme was "not area specific", but Teagasc officials and farmers in Roscommon last week confirmed that the scheme was not available in their counties.

“We want to welcome it and thank Teagasc for working with us on this and getting to the counties,” Farrell said.

“But the scheme is still needed in places like Monaghan, Westmeath and west Limerick and we’ll be working on that in the future.”

Fodder scheme mired in controversy

‘It is county specific' - ICSA uproar over fodder scheme eligibility

Fodder scheme opens to more counties – ICSA

The ICSA has announced that Teagasc has opened up the fodder scheme to additional counties.