Vacant site levy

IFA president Joe Healy has said Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government John Paul Phelan must issue a revised circular on the vacant site levy immediately to clarify that local authorities should not deem farmland ‘‘vacant’’ under the legislation. A number of farmers are incurring costs to appeal their land’s inclusion and the minister needs to back up his public comment and issue a new circular, clarifying the matter urgently.

Slurry spreading deadlines

Unexpected circumstances endured by farmers this spring are delaying the spreading of crop nutrients, which will further affect growth and fodder supplies later in the season. Environment chair Thomas Cooney said early decisions are now required from the Government regarding slurry spreading deadlines and other such calendar related regulations.

BVD samples

IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell has welcomed the development of a protocol between the Department of Agriculture, BVD testing laboratories and tag supply companies which will offset some of the difficulties associated with empty BVD samples for farmers. The IFA had sought this service for several months to minimise some of the impact of empty samples by facilitating the early provision of supplementary testing tags.

Cattle prices

Cattle prices are rising but not fast enough and not in line with the price levels in our largest export market in the UK. Livestock chair Angus Woods has called on finishers to demand more on price from the processors in order to make a viable margin. He said factory procurement managers have indicated that they expect finished cattle supplies to tighten considerably in the coming weeks.