Sheep farmers are reminded to complete their sheep census returns. The option for completing the hardcopy application has now as good as passed, with the deadline for submitting hardcopy applications being no later than 1 February 2021.

This leaves farmers who have still to complete the census with the option to submit it online, as the deadline for online returns is 15 February 2021. To complete the census online, log onto your agfood account and select the tab ‘animal identification and movement’.

Farms with mixed cattle and sheep enterprises will be then given a cattle-keeper option and a sheep-keeper option. Select the sheep option and then, in the top left section, click on 'census' and 'create' to bring up the 2020 input sheet. The date for the head count in 2020 was 31 December 2020.

This avenue also allows you to view previous census returns, which is a useful resource for correlating inventory numbers at year-end and cross checking that your flock register is up-to-date. The census can also be amended online if required, while a new feature of the sheep portal includes the ability to order dispatch documents online.

There are two questions asking whether information can be passed to Sheep Ireland and Bord Bia. This information will be used, in the case of Sheep Ireland, to circulate breeding information, including a guide and directory of LambPlus breeders in the post for free to all farmers who tick the box. For Bord Bia it relates to the quality assurance scheme.