Nuffield scholarship for Ballymoney dairy farmer

Gary Thompson, who manages a 190-cow dairy herd at Drumabest Farm outside Ballymoney, has been awarded a 2021 Nuffield Farming Scholarship.

In total, 20 new scholarships have been announced across the UK, covering a range of issues. In his case, Gary is to investigate the topic “Breaking dairy farming’s addiction to inorganic fertiliser: The road to rehabilitation”. His scholarship is being supported by The Thomas Henry Foundation.

A scholarship normally involves a year of travel and study, with a final report due at the end of year two.

Risk of bird flu increases in UK

The movement of migratory birds increases the risk of avian influenza infecting poultry units, the UK’s four chief vets have warned.

There are currently outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Russia and Kazakhstan.

“Avian flu is a constant threat to all poultry, and with winter approaching there will be an increasing risk of disease making its way into the UK from migrating birds,” a statement from the UK’s chief vets reads.

Recommended biosecurity measures include cleansing any hard surfaces, disinfecting footwear before and after visits, placing birds’ feed and water in fully enclosed areas and removing any spilled feed regularly.

Scottish MV and Johnes sheep scheme launched

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has launched a monitoring scheme to tackle maedi visna (MV) and Johne’s disease in sheep, to sit alongside SRUC’s Premium Sheep and Goat Health Scheme (PSGHS) accreditation.

“We hope that this new scheme will appeal particularly to commercial producers of female breeding stock who want to reassure buyers that they take these diseases seriously, and are working hard to reduce the risk of spreading disease,” said SRUC’s Dave Wilson, the PSGHS Veterinary Manager.

VAT requirement dropped from COVID scheme

DAERA has dropped the requirement for ornamental horticulture businesses to be VAT registered to make a claim under the NI agri food coronavirus support scheme.

The move comes after several ornamental flower growers lobbied local MLAs about their possible ex-clusion from the scheme. A budget of £1.6m has been allocated to the sector and applications are due to open later this month.