B&B movements and shed rental agreements attract close attention due to the consequences of not recording movements adequately and the impact of TB outbreaks on both herds. The article below looks at more in-depth or specific reader queries from 2015 and gives answers from personnel in the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.
Question
Can a farmer rent a shed on another holding for feeding animals over the winter? What notification, if any, has to be provided to the Department about the movement?
Answer
A farmer may rent a shed on a holding, but the animals that move into such a shed must move into the herd number of the herd/holding where the shed is located. They may not remain in the herd number from which they are moving.
Question
I have been renting a shed from a neighbour for the last ten years. The shed was left to him by his father and he never transferred or applied for a herd number. He has the land set on a long-term lease and I rent the shed for the winter and spread the slurry on my own farm. I was reading the article on B&B movements and shed rental and see that I am required to put animals into the herd number of the person who owns the shed. Since I cannot do this in this case what recommendations should I follow to stay within the letter of the law?
Answer
It is difficult to answer this question in the absence of more details in relation to the actual circumstances of the case, including whether there are cattle on the rented land, what is the position of the shed in relation to the rented land, etc. In general, the cattle in the shed must be maintained as a separate epidemiological unit to the cattle on the rented land. This means that there must be separate housing and handling facilities for each of the two epidemiological units and there must be no intermixing of animals between the two herds. Furthermore, there must be no sharing of facilities or machinery. Otherwise, the cattle in the shed must be put into the herd number of the person whose cattle are kept on the rented land.
Each individual case may or may not require a visit by an inspector from the Regional Veterinary Office to assess the suitability of the arrangement. Further information and advice is available from your Regional Veterinary Office.
Question
I rent out a shed every year as I no longer keep cattle over the winter months due to ill health. I have no problem taking animals into my herd number but does this mean that I am responsible if any inspection takes place leaving my single farm payment (BPS) at risk of a penalty? I have a good relationship with the owner of animals but I have no input into how they are managed over the winter. Can you advise please?
Answer
If the farmer has no cattle and there are no other animals in the same farmyard, there is no requirement to have a movement certificate as the owner of the cattle is simply extending his winter housing. In this case, the owner of the animals is responsible for any identification and registration breaches as per SMR 7. However, if there were other issues such as Nitrates or GAEC then the beneficiary/owner of the shed is responsible.
The second scenario is where there are other animals on the holding and the owner wants to take in other animals. In this case, an NBAS 31B form is required for the movement into and out of the herd. In this case, keeper responsibilities for the animals has transferred to the recipient herd and he/she is now responsible for complying with the Cross Compliance obligations in respect of those animals, eg missing tags, passport/Bovine herd register/AIMs discrepancies.
Question
What is the outcome if there is a TB case in the owner’s herd or in the B&B (keeper’s) herd? Will animals be limited from moving from the holdings?
Answer
All herds which test positive for TB are immediately restricted. The movement of any animal from a restricted herd, other than directly to slaughter, is prohibited. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has advised that there are certain exceptional circumstances where the movement of test-negative animals into and out of a restricted herd, other than directly to slaughter, may be considered on welfare grounds.
This permission is only granted on the basis of minimal disease risk, where in certain circumstances the movement of a farmer’s own test-negative animal from a B&B or contract-rearing facility to the home farm may be considered by the regional veterinary office (RVO). Farmers are advised to contact their RVO in all circumstances to discuss the options available. In these circumstances, where the Department has approved a movement home of a farmer’s own test-negative animals, the movement will not affect the farmer’s right to compensation should these animals be subsequently identified as reactor in that herd. In these cases, any animals older than six weeks of age must be subjected to a 30-day pre-movement test in order to qualify for compensation.
In the event that a farmer’s own animals test positive for TB while being retained in a B&B or contract-rearing facility, the Department will pay any compensation due to the herd owner of the holding on which the animals are retained.
In view of this, farmers should have a written contractual agreement before entering any such arrangement.
Restrictions also apply to inconclusive reactor animals which test clear when retested. Such animals are restricted for life to the herd of disclosure and may only be moved direct to slaughter or, in exceptional circumstances, on foot of a movement permit directly to a feedlot for onward movement direct to slaughter.
Question
If an animal is sent to a factory and there is a hold put on to the herd due to a lesion being identified, can that herd take in any animals?
Answer
A herd owner may move animals into their herd following a negative laboratory test or a negative balance of herd test subject to an epidemiological assessment of the risk of disease spread. Alternatively, a herd may apply for feedlot status. However, stringent criteria apply for the allocation of feedlot status including that feedlot herds move their animals to slaughter exclusively, there are no breeding animals and there is no risk to contiguous herds.
B&B movement rules
If applying for a temporary movement using form NBAS 31B, herds must be free from any restrictions preventing movement with the herd and animals clear to move from a TB perspective. Approvals must be sought prior to movement using the Department’s NBAS 31B certificate of compliance.The person receiving the animals becomes the keeper and must also be furnished with animal passports (blue cards) for the duration of the stay. Owner beware: the Department has no role in B&B agreements outside of monitoring the movement of animals and disease identification/surveillance. Once these are satisfied, the Department cannot influence any movements including forward movements. Read more
Factors to consider in B&B agreements
Legal queries: contract rearing dispute
B&B movements and shed rental agreements attract close attention due to the consequences of not recording movements adequately and the impact of TB outbreaks on both herds. The article below looks at more in-depth or specific reader queries from 2015 and gives answers from personnel in the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.
Question
Can a farmer rent a shed on another holding for feeding animals over the winter? What notification, if any, has to be provided to the Department about the movement?
Answer
A farmer may rent a shed on a holding, but the animals that move into such a shed must move into the herd number of the herd/holding where the shed is located. They may not remain in the herd number from which they are moving.
Question
I have been renting a shed from a neighbour for the last ten years. The shed was left to him by his father and he never transferred or applied for a herd number. He has the land set on a long-term lease and I rent the shed for the winter and spread the slurry on my own farm. I was reading the article on B&B movements and shed rental and see that I am required to put animals into the herd number of the person who owns the shed. Since I cannot do this in this case what recommendations should I follow to stay within the letter of the law?
Answer
It is difficult to answer this question in the absence of more details in relation to the actual circumstances of the case, including whether there are cattle on the rented land, what is the position of the shed in relation to the rented land, etc. In general, the cattle in the shed must be maintained as a separate epidemiological unit to the cattle on the rented land. This means that there must be separate housing and handling facilities for each of the two epidemiological units and there must be no intermixing of animals between the two herds. Furthermore, there must be no sharing of facilities or machinery. Otherwise, the cattle in the shed must be put into the herd number of the person whose cattle are kept on the rented land.
Each individual case may or may not require a visit by an inspector from the Regional Veterinary Office to assess the suitability of the arrangement. Further information and advice is available from your Regional Veterinary Office.
Question
I rent out a shed every year as I no longer keep cattle over the winter months due to ill health. I have no problem taking animals into my herd number but does this mean that I am responsible if any inspection takes place leaving my single farm payment (BPS) at risk of a penalty? I have a good relationship with the owner of animals but I have no input into how they are managed over the winter. Can you advise please?
Answer
If the farmer has no cattle and there are no other animals in the same farmyard, there is no requirement to have a movement certificate as the owner of the cattle is simply extending his winter housing. In this case, the owner of the animals is responsible for any identification and registration breaches as per SMR 7. However, if there were other issues such as Nitrates or GAEC then the beneficiary/owner of the shed is responsible.
The second scenario is where there are other animals on the holding and the owner wants to take in other animals. In this case, an NBAS 31B form is required for the movement into and out of the herd. In this case, keeper responsibilities for the animals has transferred to the recipient herd and he/she is now responsible for complying with the Cross Compliance obligations in respect of those animals, eg missing tags, passport/Bovine herd register/AIMs discrepancies.
Question
What is the outcome if there is a TB case in the owner’s herd or in the B&B (keeper’s) herd? Will animals be limited from moving from the holdings?
Answer
All herds which test positive for TB are immediately restricted. The movement of any animal from a restricted herd, other than directly to slaughter, is prohibited. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has advised that there are certain exceptional circumstances where the movement of test-negative animals into and out of a restricted herd, other than directly to slaughter, may be considered on welfare grounds.
This permission is only granted on the basis of minimal disease risk, where in certain circumstances the movement of a farmer’s own test-negative animal from a B&B or contract-rearing facility to the home farm may be considered by the regional veterinary office (RVO). Farmers are advised to contact their RVO in all circumstances to discuss the options available. In these circumstances, where the Department has approved a movement home of a farmer’s own test-negative animals, the movement will not affect the farmer’s right to compensation should these animals be subsequently identified as reactor in that herd. In these cases, any animals older than six weeks of age must be subjected to a 30-day pre-movement test in order to qualify for compensation.
In the event that a farmer’s own animals test positive for TB while being retained in a B&B or contract-rearing facility, the Department will pay any compensation due to the herd owner of the holding on which the animals are retained.
In view of this, farmers should have a written contractual agreement before entering any such arrangement.
Restrictions also apply to inconclusive reactor animals which test clear when retested. Such animals are restricted for life to the herd of disclosure and may only be moved direct to slaughter or, in exceptional circumstances, on foot of a movement permit directly to a feedlot for onward movement direct to slaughter.
Question
If an animal is sent to a factory and there is a hold put on to the herd due to a lesion being identified, can that herd take in any animals?
Answer
A herd owner may move animals into their herd following a negative laboratory test or a negative balance of herd test subject to an epidemiological assessment of the risk of disease spread. Alternatively, a herd may apply for feedlot status. However, stringent criteria apply for the allocation of feedlot status including that feedlot herds move their animals to slaughter exclusively, there are no breeding animals and there is no risk to contiguous herds.
B&B movement rules
If applying for a temporary movement using form NBAS 31B, herds must be free from any restrictions preventing movement with the herd and animals clear to move from a TB perspective. Approvals must be sought prior to movement using the Department’s NBAS 31B certificate of compliance.The person receiving the animals becomes the keeper and must also be furnished with animal passports (blue cards) for the duration of the stay. Owner beware: the Department has no role in B&B agreements outside of monitoring the movement of animals and disease identification/surveillance. Once these are satisfied, the Department cannot influence any movements including forward movements. Read more
Factors to consider in B&B agreements
Legal queries: contract rearing dispute
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