All heifers which are contract-reared will be eligible for TB compensation, regardless of their future TB status, the Department of Agriculture has clarified.

The Department has corrected its response to a series of questions from the Irish Farmers Journal, confirming that “all home-bred heifers returning back from contract rearers will be eligible for OFMV [On-Farm Market Valuation] and other compensation schemes, subject to the terms and conditions of those schemes, in the event that they become reactors at a future test in the home herd”.

The Department also confirmed that contract-reared heifers which test negative for TB will be allowed return to the home herd, even if some animals in the management group were found to be reactors.

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“Where reactor animals are disclosed in contract rearing farms, they are valued and removed for slaughter under permit, as is the case for other reactors,” a Department spokesperson stated.

The cohorts of the bTB reactors will remain on the contract-rearer farm unless they need to be moved to the herd of origin for welfare reasons, eg if no milking facilities exist in the contract-rearer herd,” the spokesperson added.

Permits

In such circumstances, the Regional Veterinary Office (RVO) may issue a permit “to allow negative heifers in the same management group as the reactor heifers to return to the home dairy herd for milking”, the Department confirmed.

“In such an event as well as complying with all conditions on the permit, the herd of origin will be restricted and will need to pass two clear herd tests before being derestricted,” the Department spokesperson explained.

“The local RVO will engage with the herdowner involved to ensure the risk of the spread of bTB to the home herd is managed effectively, which may involve the ‘test negative cohort heifers’ being housed/managed separately from the main herd,” the Department pointed out.

Under the new Bovine TB Action Plan, all animals returning from a contract rearer will require a 30-day pre-movement test.

This story was updated on 21 May 2026, with corrected information from the Department of Agriculture.