Texel rams
tops rankings
Texel rams have taken the top five places in the ranking of overall carcase merit from the first three years of the AHDB’s RamCompare project.
RamCompare is the first sheep performance recording test in the UK that allows comparisons to be made across different breeds.
The programme has so far involved 12,000 lambs being performance recorded from 138 terminal sires across the Charollais, Meatlinc, Suffolk, Texel, Hampshire Down and Blue Texel breeds.
Leading the composite index of overall carcase merit, which considers carcase weight, conformation and fat class, is a Texel ram bred by D, M and S Prince from Derbyshire. Roxburgh Shot Gun Willie’s breeding index has an accuracy of 92% and is based on records from 142 progeny.
Of the top 10 rams ranked for overall carcase merit, seven were Texel. The Blue Texel, Suffolk, and Charollais breeds had one ram listed each.
Broadband contract
The contract for delivering improved broadband services in rural areas of NI will be put out to tender this summer, according to Sinn Féin MLA Declan McAleer.
Following a meeting with officials from the Department for the Economy (DfE), McAleer said an extension has been granted to allow for the delivery of the project over a four-year period. A public consultation on the initiative, known as Project Stratum, closed earlier this year and had 11,000 responses. DfE estimates that 100,000 premises in NI do not have access to broadband speeds of at least 30Mbps.
Up to £200m of government funding could be made available to improve broadband connections to these premises. In 2017, £150m from the DUP’s confidence and supply agreement with the Conservative Party, was earmarked for broadband services in NI.
BPS Confusion
The latest Brexit delay has created “confusion and uncertainty” over how the UK government plans to change the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) next year, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
Last year, the UK government set out plans to make minor changes to the BPS (such as simplifying requirements for Greening) from 2020 onwards.
“As we speak, farmers are deciding on their plans for next year, including their cropping for harvest 2020, and it is imperative they have certainty over the requirements of BPS 2020 in order to make informed decisions,” said NFU vice-president Stuart Roberts.
TB rates decline
The herd incidence rate of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in NI continued to fall during the first three months of the year, the latest figures from DAERA indicate.
Herd incidence rate is the percentage of new reactor herds as a proportion of the total tested over 12 months. It stood at 8.51% in March 2019, which is down from 8.86% in February and represents the fifth consecutive monthly fall since the most recent peak of 9.54% in October 2018.
Read more
32% of UK farm crime not reported to police
UK tractor registrations down 27% in May
Texel rams
tops rankings
Texel rams have taken the top five places in the ranking of overall carcase merit from the first three years of the AHDB’s RamCompare project.
RamCompare is the first sheep performance recording test in the UK that allows comparisons to be made across different breeds.
The programme has so far involved 12,000 lambs being performance recorded from 138 terminal sires across the Charollais, Meatlinc, Suffolk, Texel, Hampshire Down and Blue Texel breeds.
Leading the composite index of overall carcase merit, which considers carcase weight, conformation and fat class, is a Texel ram bred by D, M and S Prince from Derbyshire. Roxburgh Shot Gun Willie’s breeding index has an accuracy of 92% and is based on records from 142 progeny.
Of the top 10 rams ranked for overall carcase merit, seven were Texel. The Blue Texel, Suffolk, and Charollais breeds had one ram listed each.
Broadband contract
The contract for delivering improved broadband services in rural areas of NI will be put out to tender this summer, according to Sinn Féin MLA Declan McAleer.
Following a meeting with officials from the Department for the Economy (DfE), McAleer said an extension has been granted to allow for the delivery of the project over a four-year period. A public consultation on the initiative, known as Project Stratum, closed earlier this year and had 11,000 responses. DfE estimates that 100,000 premises in NI do not have access to broadband speeds of at least 30Mbps.
Up to £200m of government funding could be made available to improve broadband connections to these premises. In 2017, £150m from the DUP’s confidence and supply agreement with the Conservative Party, was earmarked for broadband services in NI.
BPS Confusion
The latest Brexit delay has created “confusion and uncertainty” over how the UK government plans to change the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) next year, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
Last year, the UK government set out plans to make minor changes to the BPS (such as simplifying requirements for Greening) from 2020 onwards.
“As we speak, farmers are deciding on their plans for next year, including their cropping for harvest 2020, and it is imperative they have certainty over the requirements of BPS 2020 in order to make informed decisions,” said NFU vice-president Stuart Roberts.
TB rates decline
The herd incidence rate of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in NI continued to fall during the first three months of the year, the latest figures from DAERA indicate.
Herd incidence rate is the percentage of new reactor herds as a proportion of the total tested over 12 months. It stood at 8.51% in March 2019, which is down from 8.86% in February and represents the fifth consecutive monthly fall since the most recent peak of 9.54% in October 2018.
Read more
32% of UK farm crime not reported to police
UK tractor registrations down 27% in May
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