New tranche of EFS wider level to open

The fourth tranche of the wider level of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) will open for applications on Monday 17 August.

Single fencing along waterways is no longer available under the scheme following a high uptake in previous tranches.

However, DAERA point out that other fencing measures remain, including 2m or 10m riparian margins which can be ungrazed or planted with trees.

The other change f is the payment for drinking trough pipework has been effectively halved to £3.91/m.

“These changes have been made to ensure that Tranche 4 of the scheme continues to deliver on its environmental objectives and also provide value for money from public funds,” DAERA guidance states.

Successful applicants will be offered a five-year agreement which will start on 1 January 2021. Most measures require work to be completed before 1 June in the first year.

Applications must be made online through the DAERA website. The application window closes on Friday 11 September.

NIIAS to hold vertical farming webinar

A webinar on vertical farming technologies has been organised by the NI Institute of Agricultural Science for Monday 24 August from 7.30pm.

Vertical farming is a form of controlled-environment agriculture where crops are grown indoors in stacked layers.

Speakers include David Farquhar, chief executive of Edinburgh based firm Intelligent Growth Solutions, and John Paul Prior from Farmony, a vertical farming company headquartered in Dublin.

The free webinar will last for one hour and is open to both NIIAS members and non-members. Pre-registration is required by emailing secretary@niias.co.uk

Ends.

Profits down at Dale Farm

Dale Farm made pre-tax profits of £9.8m for its 2019/20 financial year, down 18% on the previous year.

Operating profits in the business fell by 15% to £12.2m, as operating profit margins narrowed from 2.8% in 2018 to 2.4% last year. Overall, Dale Farm’s sales were relatively steady (-1%) last year at just under £505m.

Moy Park tops NI company list

Moy Park is the largest company headquartered in NI in terms of turnover for the ninth year in a row.

The annual list, compiled by Ulster Business magazine, shows the poultry processor had sales of £1.58bn in its latest accounts which spanned the 2019 calendar year.

Second place on the list was also unchanged, going to grain traders W & R Barnett. With a turnover of £1.36bn, the company has a portfolio of businesses, including R & H Hall and John Thompson & Sons.

Red meat processor Dunbia moved from sixth to fourth position with total sales of £1.09bn.

Moy Park came second place in a separate ranking of the largest private sectors employers in NI. The Craigavon headquartered firm had 4,918 workers on the list, with Tesco coming out top with 9,871 employees.