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Import licences change after bird flu
Licenses for importing poultry from Britain to NI have been changed following the detection of low pathogenic avian influenza in Suffolk last week.
The existing general licences for movements of poultry and hatching eggs were revoked by DAERA at midday on Friday (13 December).
Importers now have to apply to the department for specific licences to move consignments of poultry and hatching eggs from Britain into NI. Imports of poultry meat, meat products and table eggs have not been affected by the changes.
Limerick breeder’s Winter Fair title
A Holstein cow exhibited by Paul Hannon from Co Limerick took the interbreed title at the 34th Winter Fair in Balmoral Park last Thursday.
Lisnalty Megasire Ritual is a second calver that yielded 11,600kg in her first lactation. The show champion was tapped forward by Rob Anderson from Gippsland in south east Australia.
It is the fifth time in the last six years that an exhibitor from the Republic of Ireland has won the title and it is the seventh year in a row that the interbreed champion has been a Holstein.
For more coverage, see Pedigree Livestock p45.
Tim Cullinan elected IFA president
Tipperary pig farmer Tim Cullinan was elected president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) on Tuesday evening. Some 23,000 members of Ireland’s largest farm lobby organisation voted.
The other candidates were Wicklow beef, sheep and tillage farmer Angus Woods, and Cork dairy, beef and tillage farmer John Coughlan.
Cullinan will replace current IFA president Joe Healy at the organisation’s AGM. Kildare dairy farmer Brian Rushe was elected deputy president.
Dairy beef visit to the Netherlands
The latest tranche of CAFRE’s Farm Innovation Visits Scheme involves a study trip to the Netherlands to learn about managing antibiotic usage in dairy bred beef calves.
The two-day study tour runs from Tuesday 28 January and involves visits to a veterinary practice, several progressive veal units and the Trouw Nutrition calf research centre.
Applicants must be from a farm business with a minimum of 30 dairy beef bred animals that are reared to at least 14 weeks of age. Participants must identify a group of farmers to share their findings with upon their return.
The application window closes at 4pm on Monday 6 January 2020. It is an online process which is accessed through the CAFRE website.
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