BDG open for new applicants

A third tranche of the Business Development Group (BDG) scheme has opened for new applicants via the CAFRE website, and closes on Thursday 21 December at 4pm.

The BDG format involves eight on-farm meetings each year in sector specific groups of 15 to 20 farmers.

The first tranche of scheme opened in November 2015 with 3,313 farmers applying. A further 118 new applicants joined in November 2016.

Farmers receive up to £490 for attending all eight meetings and a payment of £600 for hosting a meeting. It is understood that attendance payments are to be removed in April 2018, but the £600 hosting payment is to remain.

While drop-out rates have been fairly low, it is expected that more farmers could fall by the wayside 2018, creating an opportunity for new applicants to the scheme.

Retain PIs and risk FQAS

It is understood that a proposal has been put to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) by industry bodies, including the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), that farmers who retain calves persistently infected (PI) with BVD should be excluded from the Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS).

The argument is that more punitive action is required if NI is to rid itself of the disease. In the past, the UFU has suggested that farmers who retain PIs should be placed under movement restriction as happens in the Republic of Ireland, but, to date, DAERA has resisted that idea.

Just over 650 members of the NI beef and lamb FQAS are believed to be holding on to PI calves. While nothing has been decided, the LMC is believed to be open to the possibility of taking action.

It comes after 1,300 PI calves were removed as part of a recent aid package that provided financial assistance on disposal costs of PI calves. That scheme ran from 1 February to 30 September of this year.

While it was considered successful, and the UFU has encouraged DAERA to consider another similar scheme in the future, it did not fully solve the problem, with some farmers continuing to ignore the risks of retaining PIs, both for them, and their neighbours.

APHIS changes

DAERA is updating the design and functions of APHIS online to allow additional sire information to be recorded when registering calf births. The system is also being made mobile-friendly and will be able to be accessed on Apple or Android smartphones.

However, the current method of logging into DAERA online services through the Government Gateway will not be available from March 2019. A new NI Direct log in will be used instead and requires users to register with NI Direct and create a new account.

Live export ban

Any proposal in Westminster to restrict the live export of farm animals in the UK will be opposed by farmers in NI, UFU deputy president Victor Chestnutt has said. A private members’ bill that aims to ban the live export of farm animals from the UK for fattening or slaughter passed through the first reading stage in the House of Commons in October.

“MPs and animal welfare lobby behind this legislation would be much better focusing their time on making sure third country imports meet our standards,” Chestnutt said.

Top Holstein sire

A young Holstein bull bred in NI is the highest ranked UK-bred sire on the latest genomic sire list compiled by AHDB. Prehen Shamrock Lancaster, bred by Stuart Smith who owns the Prehen herd, is seventh on the list. The bull scores highly on fertility index (+17.4) and daughter maintenance (-3) with a PLI of £775.