A mandatory housing order for poultry as a precaution against highly pathogenic avian influenza is to come into effect across England on Friday.
“Bird keepers are urged to comply with the housing measures and to exercise robust biosecurity, remaining alert for any signs of the disease,” said UK chief vet Christine Middlemiss.
A similar housing order for bird keepers in NI has not yet been announced. Last year, mandatory housing requirements came into effect in NI in early November.
A “robust review” is being carried out into standards for the NI beef and lamb farm quality assurance scheme.
The Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) said the standards are being reviewed by a committee made up of industry representatives and veterinary experts.
“Significant progress has been made to date, and we are on track to implement these updated standards on farm in 2027,” said Gillian Davis from the LMC.
There is a mixed picture for pregnancy rates among spring-calving cows in NI, according to local scanners and vets.
The Irish Farmers Journal was recently contacted by a farmer who had poor conception rates in his suckler cows, with the issue being put down to heat stress over the summer.
However, scanners working across NI state this is not a widespread trend and there has been no major change in scanning results so far this year.
“Results can be very variable from farm to farm, but there has been nothing out of the ordinary this year when you compare it to other years,” said a Co Down-based scanner.
