UFU hits out at TB fraud

The conviction last week of Pomeroy farmers Mark and Anthony Girvan, for offences linked to TB fraud, animal welfare and cattle identification, has drawn some angry criticism from Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president Ivor Ferguson. He said that those who might try to make an animal look like it has TB in order to claim compensation puts the reputation of the entire NI cattle industry at risk.

“It is an insult to the farmers whose herds actually have the disease and the stress and strain they have endured as a result,” said Ferguson. However, he pointed out that it is the first conviction of its kind in NI, and therefore should not be seen as reflective of the wider industry.

“The vast majority of farmers would never entertain such behaviour,” said Ferguson.

Going forward, the UFU said it would support action for more robust penalties via the courts for this type of crime.

7,623 TB reactors in six months

A total of 7,623 bovine TB reactor animals have been taken off farms in NI over the first six months of 2018.

The total is virtually unchanged from the same period in 2017, when 7,715 animals were removed, but is still up 41% on the equivalent figures from 2016, highlighting that TB remains a very costly issue for government in NI. Across all of 2017, compensation for reactor animals came to £23.4m, out of a total cost against the TB programme of £37.8m. The most recent DAERA figures for June 2018 show that 251 herds had at least one reactor at a test, and 123 of these herds were new breakdowns. Herd incidence (the number of new reactor herds out of the total that test) for the first six months of 2018 now stands at 6.28%. That figure started in January at 5.1% and has risen every month since then. However, it is still significantly behind the 9.61% incidence rate for 2017. In June 2018 just over 3,000 cattle herds in NI were under some form of TB movement restriction.

NI to receive ag funds

Devolved regions of the UK will continue to receive a larger share of farm support funds than England after Brexit, Defra secretary Michael Gove has said.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Gove said that a review of agricultural funding across the UK is due shortly, but he committed to not dividing post-Brexit funds among regions based on population size (known as the Barnett formula). At present, NI receives 9.2% of the UK’s CAP funding allocation, but it would only be entitled to 3% of post-Brexit farm support funds from UK Treasury if it was divided by the Barnett formula.

“One thing I can guarantee is that agricultural funding will not be Barnettised. The rightly generous settlement which gives NI, Scotland and Wales more than England will be defended,” Gove said.

During the second reading of the government’s agriculture bill, criticism came from some MPs about the absence of a funding commitment in the bill.

“Green Brexit will soon wither on the vine without any commitment written into the bill to maintain the current levels of spending. This is something that farmers and green campaigners are in alignment on,” said Labour MP Sue Hayman.

DAERA confirm 70% advance payments

The European Commission has approved an application from DAERA for the level of advanced CAP payments in NI to be increased from 50% to 70% of claims.

“Advance payments will commence on 16 October 2018 and will be made to all eligible farm businesses in NI which have fully verified claims,” DAERA said in a statement last week.

Balance payments, or full payments for those not eligible for an advance payment, will then commence from 1 December 2018.

DAERA made the application in early August after European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan announced that 70% advanced payments could be issued by member states to help farmers affected by drought conditions.

This will be third year in a row that DAERA has issued advanced payments from mid-October, and the third time that the rate has been increased from 50% to 70%.

Nitrates derogation to be retained

The nitrates derogation, which allows increased nitrogen loading on highly stocked farms, will be retained in the UK after Brexit, Defra Minister George Eustice has said.

Speaking in Westminster on Wednesday, Eustice maintained that there were no plans to remove the derogation when it moves from EU into UK law. He told a House of Lord’s sub-committee that the government plans to deliver incentives after Brexit for farmers to build more slurry storage and make better use of nutrients.

“We are not going to remove any protections that are there in EU law, but my ambition is that in 10 or 15 years’ time people look back and see the existing EU infrastructure as a bit redundant because what we have done on our own accord since has superseded it,” Eustice said.

“We can’t see any evidence from monitoring data that water quality is affected by the derogation,” added Helen Wakeham from the Environment Agency.