The greatest change for farmers in terms of handling sheep this summer is the extension of mandatory electronic identification (EID) across all sheep from 1 June. This week the full details of the new regulations are outlined, while the latest update from stakeholders in terms of implementing central points of recording is also discussed.

The extension of full EID continues to divide opinion, with the Department of Agriculture and Meat Industry Ireland citing improved traceability while for farmers cost remains the main stumbling block. For some farmers, there will be an opportunity to take advantage of the technology in terms of recording data and in such cases consideration should be given to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) as grant aid may be available.

Some farmers have contacted the Irish Farmers Journal in this regard stating that entry requirements need to be updated to facilitate uptake from store producers, while other farmers making significant investments comment that the rate of grant aid is not in line with equipment costs.

There are also significant changes this summer in the suite of products available to farmers for blowfly treatment and prevention. Osmonds’ exit from the market has removed the common products Goldfleece and Ecofleece, while disruption to supply means the popular non-organophosphate-based sheep dip Cyperguard which is manufactured by Bimeda will be unavailable until October 2019. Tommy Heffernan covers options for farmers.

We have a preview of this year’s sheep shearing championships which take place in Cashel on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, while it looks like it will also be another difficult year for wool markets.

We detail a report from the recent wool seminar held as part of Roscommon Lamb Festival which raises questions about the need for a regulatory body to represent wool at national level.