Beattie takes on Fivemiletown Mart

Local auctioneer Richard Beattie has added Fivemiletown to his portfolio of livestock marts.

He currently runs weekly sales at marts in Gortin, Lisahally, Pomeroy and Draperstown, as well as specialist sales from his own yard near Omagh.

His first weekly cattle sale at Fivemiletown is due to take place on Monday 17 April from 11am.

Mills to be confirmed as YFCU president

Stuart Mills is set to be confirmed as the president of the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) at the organisation’s AGM in Belfast on Saturday.

The Moneymore YFC member has been YFCU deputy president for the past two years and will take over from outgoing president Peter Alexander.

Richard Beattie from Finvoy YFC is the only candidate running for the deputy president role and is set to be elected unopposed.

Voting will take place among YFCU members for the election of new vice-presidents, as six names have been put forward for four positions.

The candidates are Brian Wade from Hillhall, Kristina Fleming from Ballywalter, Laura Patterson from Holestone, Matthew Livingstone from Collone, Rachel Smith from Moycraig and Shannen Vance from Trillick and District.

Poultry housing to end in England and Wales

A compulsory requirement to house all poultry in England and Wales is to be lifted on Tuesday 18 April. The housing order was introduced in November 2022 in response to avian influenza.

“Whilst the lifting of the mandatory housing measures will be welcome news to bird keepers, scrupulous biosecurity remains the most critical form of defence to help keep your birds safe,” said UK chief vet Dr Christine Middlemiss.

There has been no announcement so far about lifting the housing order for poultry in both NI and Scotland.

Foyle sell £11m worth of beef in Japan

The Foyle Food Group exported 3,000t of beef worth £11m to Japan last year, according to new figures published by the meat processor.

The Omagh-headquartered company is responsible for 85% of all UK beef sales in the country during 2022.

The growth in exports to the far east came from a standing start in 2019 when the UK first gained access to the Japanese market.

Most of the imported frozen beef is used within the food service industry, including traditional Izakaya restaurants and fast food chains.

“Exports are valuable to our business as they allow us to optimise cuts that are not utilised in the UK,” said Marie Di Bartolo, Foyle’s International Market Manager.

“The growth in our exports to Japan has been remarkable when you consider the numerous challenges our industry has faced over the last few years, from the COVID pandemic which saw the food service industry shut down, to labour shortages and supply chain issues caused by global events,” she said.

New Irish Wool Council launched

A new all-island Irish Grown Wool Council has been launched, with the aim of improving the value of Irish wool for sheep farmers. The new body is made of stakeholders from across the island, including the Ulster Farmers’ Union and Ulster Wool.

UK tractor registrations highest since 2009

The number of new tractors registered in the UK last month was the highest monthly total seen since March 2009, new figures from the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) indicate.

Overall, there were 2,223 new tractors registered in the UK during March 2023, which is 13% higher than the same month last year.

March historically has the highest number of new registrations each year, as it coincides with the end of the financial year and start of the field work season.

“The high number of machines recorded last month is an indication that supply chain disruptions continue to ease, allowing manufacturers to catch up with some of the backlog of orders which had built up over the previous two years,” said Stephen Howarth from AEA.