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A significant number of suckler farmers must become a member of the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) over the next few months if they wish to join the new Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).
This is a key eligibility requirement for the scheme that offers payment of €150 per cow for the first 10 cows in the herd and €120 per cow thereafter.
The eligibility rule is not the flavour of the month among farmers and has been brought up on numerous occasions at the Irish Farmers Journal CAP information meetings.
However, as it is a mandatory requirement, farmers must either opt to participate or not join the scheme.
Bord Bia has a list of frequently asked questions and answers, which provides some information as to what can be expected during an audit for those considering applying.
1. How do I become a member of the Bord Bia SBLAS?
A. Applications to join the SBLAS can be made over the phone by contacting the Bord Bia service office on 062 54900.
2. Do I have to pay for a Bord Bia audit?
A. No, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine funds the running of the programme.
3. How long will my audit take?
A. On average, an SBLAS audit takes about 90 minutes. The audit length can be influenced by how well a farm is prepared for the audit.
4. What are the main areas I should concentrate on in preparation for the audit?
A. In general, the majority of problems uncovered during an audit leading to non-compliance relate to record keeping and, in particular, remedy record keeping.
Ensuring you have a full and complete record of all medicine purchases and medicine usages prior to audit will help eliminate the non-compliances in this area.
5. What is an auditor looking for when examining farm records?
A. Consistency. This is what auditors are trying to establish when reviewing farm records during an audit.
They do this by determining the correlation that exists between the records, what is observed during the farm walk and what information is verbally communicated to them by the farmer during the farm walk.
6. Do I have to use the Bord Bia farm book?
A. No, Bord Bia requires farmers to keep records in relation to remedies, feed, animal movements, etc. However, farmers have a number of options with regard to where they maintain records.
In some cases, retention of invoices/statements will suffice, software packages may be used or any other format that allows a farmer record all the required detail as set out in the standards.
7. What kind of information should my farm sign show?
A. The sign should contain the following statements:
No access beyond this point without permission OR no unauthorised access beyond this point.
A health and safety statement is available - please ask.
This is a food producing farm – please observe the biosecurity measures OR access to the dairy facilities (bulk tank and milking parlour) is prohibited unless accompanied by the farmer.
8. Is there any additional help available to farmers when preparing for a Bord Bia audit?
A. Bord Bia operates a help desk to provide advice and guidance to farmers in relation to any aspect of the audit or the audit process.
One of the key functions of the help desk is to maintain contact with farmers who have issues to address after their audit (the ‘close-out process’). The help desk is open 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday on 01-524 0410.
9. What happens after my audit? Am I certified there and then?
A. Once your closing meeting has been completed with the auditor, the inspection details go through some further steps before final decision. These are as follows:
The audit report goes to the inspection body for initial review.
On completion of this step, the audit report is forwarded to a Bord Bia independent reviewer for analysis.
Finally, the audit report, including all review stage data, is sent forward to the Bord Bia certification committee for certification or other decision.
The farmer will receive a communication outlining the determination of the Bord Bia certification committee regarding your certification status.
This communication may detail any areas for improvement or non-compliances and whether or not you have been successful.
However, if non-compliances are identified during the audit, the farmer will have one month to address the issues before the audit file goes through the review process outlined above.
10. How long am I certified for?
A. Producers receive an 18-month certification period. The length of certification may be shortened at the discretion of Bord Bia. Bord Bia also conducts a small number of spot audits on scheme members.
11. Will the auditor be taking pictures of my farm?
A. Photographic evidence will only be taken with the explicit permission of the farmer in advance and as a means of sorting problems without the need for another farm visit.
12. Why do auditors carry out checks in relation to health and safety?
A. A good-quality assurance scheme will incorporate more than just legal requirements and good farming practices.
It will look at other areas that are intrinsically linked to the running of a farm: management of the environment, pollution control and health and safety checks all fall into this category.
13. Are the auditors paid more to fail me?
A. This is completely untrue. Auditors receive the same fee, regardless of outcome.
14. Why am I having a spot audit, I thought I was certified for 18 months?
A. The Bord Bia scheme is an internationally accredited scheme and, as part of this, Bord Bia is required to spot audit a minimum percentage of farms each year.
The volume of spot audits conducted on an annual basis runs at less than 1% of all audits conducted.
For farmers already participating in the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme and undertaking subsequent audit, there is a process known as a ‘close-out’ period where minor non-compliances can be addressed.
Questions relating to the ‘close-out’ period are detailed below.
1. Is my farm still certified during the ‘close-out’ period after my audit?
A. Yes, if you were certified when the audit was conducted on your farm then that certification will remain in place throughout the one month close-out period.
2. How do I show that I have addressed the issues found in my audit to Bord Bia?
A. There are a number of ways that farmers can do this:
Farmers can log on to farm.bordbia.ie using their herd number and a unique PIN number issued when they receive notification of the audit and upload the evidence directly to the Bord Bia quality assurance database.
Farmers can email evidence to the Bord Bia help desk, which can upload it to the Bord Bia database on the farmer's behalf.
Farmers can text photos to the Bord Bia help desk, which will upload these to the Bord Bia database on the farmer's behalf.
Farmers can post copies of close-out evidence to the Bord Bia help desk, which will upload these to the Bord Bia database on the farmer's behalf. Address: Bord Bia help desk, Tralee Road Industrial Estate, Castleisland, Co Kerry.
3. What happens if I fail to close out the issues raised at audit during the one-month period allowed?
A. Where the close-out deadline is not met, the farm is automatically not eligible for certification.
Any existing certification will be withdrawn and re-certification can only be achieved by applying to Bord Bia for a new audit after a six-month period.
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