The Department of Agriculture has invited tenders to establish a panel of up to 75 independent valuers who will value reactor cattle under the TB eradication programme. This is the first time it is putting these positions out to tender.
The Department wants to appoint a minimum of five valuers per county. This is to allow a farmer who has a herd breakdown a choice of valuers, as operates under the current On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme.
Successful applicants will be required to enter into a contract with the Department and the term will run for three years and may be rolled over for a further two-year period. Applicants are not required to nominate a price for their services – payment has been set by the Department of Agriculture. Rates will be:
For each animal over 50, there is a payment of €2.
In a change, valuers will now be required to purchase public liability insurance with an indemnity limit of €6.5m and professional indemnity insurance for up to €500,000.
The tender document also maintains the penalty points system which has operated for some years and which both valuers and farmers claim reduces valuers’ independence. Penalty points will be imposed on a valuer who does not adhere to Department requirements and this can result in them being suspended.
The system covers paperwork and other administrative tasks. In addition, valuers deemed by the Department to have under or overscored cattle on quality or on weight assessment can also get penalty points.
Accumulation of 15 points within a 12-month period will result in a three-week suspension from all valuation work. Accumulation of 20 points will result in a six-week suspension while 30 points will result in a minimum three-month suspension. Points will remain in place for 12 months from the date they are imposed. This control is over and above the appeal option – against the valuation on an individual animal – which is open to the Department as well as the herd owner.
The IFA this week criticised the Department of Agriculture for drafting the tender without consulting with farmers. The imposition of penalty points on valuers and bureaucratic controls in the current scheme have eroded the independence of the valuation process.
Independence
IFA Animal Health Committee chair Bert Stewart said: “The independence of valuers in the on-farm market valuation scheme is central to the credibility of the scheme and must be safeguarded in the new panel being established.
“The DAFM cannot continue to maintain this level of influence on independent valuers who are qualified professionals in the valuation of livestock,” Stewart said.
Applicants must have experience in one or more of the following:
Livestock auctioneering/mart management.Livestock judging. Liveweight assessment. Projecting carcase grade at slaughter or kill-out weights.Analysing market trends/market requirements.Applicants will have to undergo a test of their experience and this can be done at either Gurteen Agricultural College in Co Tipperary or at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Co Cavan.
The valuation system will operate largely as it does at present. Each week, valuers will be given an updated summary of market prices by the Department.
In advance of the valuer making arrangements with a herd owner to carry out a valuation, he or she will receive details on identification, breeding and registration details of the animal.
The valuer must complete the valuation within three days, which must be based on current market values and on the valuer code of practice.
The deadline for tenders is Tuesday 27 October at 5pm.
The Department of Agriculture has invited tenders to establish a panel of up to 75 independent valuers who will value reactor cattle under the TB eradication programme. This is the first time it is putting these positions out to tender.
The Department wants to appoint a minimum of five valuers per county. This is to allow a farmer who has a herd breakdown a choice of valuers, as operates under the current On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme.
Successful applicants will be required to enter into a contract with the Department and the term will run for three years and may be rolled over for a further two-year period. Applicants are not required to nominate a price for their services – payment has been set by the Department of Agriculture. Rates will be:
For each animal over 50, there is a payment of €2.
In a change, valuers will now be required to purchase public liability insurance with an indemnity limit of €6.5m and professional indemnity insurance for up to €500,000.
The tender document also maintains the penalty points system which has operated for some years and which both valuers and farmers claim reduces valuers’ independence. Penalty points will be imposed on a valuer who does not adhere to Department requirements and this can result in them being suspended.
The system covers paperwork and other administrative tasks. In addition, valuers deemed by the Department to have under or overscored cattle on quality or on weight assessment can also get penalty points.
Accumulation of 15 points within a 12-month period will result in a three-week suspension from all valuation work. Accumulation of 20 points will result in a six-week suspension while 30 points will result in a minimum three-month suspension. Points will remain in place for 12 months from the date they are imposed. This control is over and above the appeal option – against the valuation on an individual animal – which is open to the Department as well as the herd owner.
The IFA this week criticised the Department of Agriculture for drafting the tender without consulting with farmers. The imposition of penalty points on valuers and bureaucratic controls in the current scheme have eroded the independence of the valuation process.
Independence
IFA Animal Health Committee chair Bert Stewart said: “The independence of valuers in the on-farm market valuation scheme is central to the credibility of the scheme and must be safeguarded in the new panel being established.
“The DAFM cannot continue to maintain this level of influence on independent valuers who are qualified professionals in the valuation of livestock,” Stewart said.
Applicants must have experience in one or more of the following:
Livestock auctioneering/mart management.Livestock judging. Liveweight assessment. Projecting carcase grade at slaughter or kill-out weights.Analysing market trends/market requirements.Applicants will have to undergo a test of their experience and this can be done at either Gurteen Agricultural College in Co Tipperary or at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Co Cavan.
The valuation system will operate largely as it does at present. Each week, valuers will be given an updated summary of market prices by the Department.
In advance of the valuer making arrangements with a herd owner to carry out a valuation, he or she will receive details on identification, breeding and registration details of the animal.
The valuer must complete the valuation within three days, which must be based on current market values and on the valuer code of practice.
The deadline for tenders is Tuesday 27 October at 5pm.
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