Any farmers who held sheep in 2012, or who indicated on last year’s sheep census that they intended re-entering sheep farming in the immediate future, will have received an application form by post. Flockowners who did not receive an application form should contact the sheep identification section helpline on 1890-252713.
2012 changes
There are two main changes to the application form when compared to previous years.
The first is that additional information on breed type and numbers is required by the Department. This information is required to calculate stocking rates, compliance and maintenance of certain lands such as commonages and will be used to satisfy eligibility in schemes such as the Single Farm Payment, Disadvantaged Area Scheme, REPS, AEOS and the Grassland Sheep Scheme.
The application form requires details of mountain breeds and lowland breeds and the numbers held to be recorded on the application.
However, confusion has arisen as to the breeds eligible for classification as mountain breeds with Blackface Mountain and Cheviot indicated on the form as being the only eligible breeds.
The Department of Agriculture has told the Irish Farmers Journal that this is currently under discussion and will be clarified in next week’s Journal.
A further clarification will also be given as to what age of animal should be included when calculating ewe hoggets with confusion arising as to whether it should be ewe lambs born in 2012 or ewe hoggets born in 2011.
The advice for flockowners requiring clarification on these issues is to record the number of sheep on your holding on any day between 14-18 December but to hold off finalising and submitting the application form until clarifications are released on these issues in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.
Online applications
The second significant change is that farmers can also submit their 2012 Sheep Census online via the Department’s Agfood facility. This is the same system that can be used to submit your Single Farm Payment application online.
To use this system, an applicant must firstly be a registered user or register on the agfood.ie website. Alternatively, your agricultural adviser may be already registered as a user acting on your behalf.
Farmers can register as a user by following the link from the Department’s website www.agriculture.gov.ie. The information required is straightforward with your PPS number the only real additional information that may need to be previously sourced.
It is important to note that registration confirmation and use of the services is not instant. A password will be required for future logon to the system so ensure you retain this.
Following submission of your details, the Department will register you as a user. You will then receive confirmation of this by post along with a ‘PAC’ number and your user name. The PAC number is unique to you and is seven digits long.
Each time you log on, you will be asked for three random digits of the PAC number.
Navigating to the Sheep Census 2012 screen
For an individual farmer: After you have entered and submitted the three digits of your PAC number, along with your password, you will be directed to the application menu. You will need to choose ‘Single Farm Payment’ from the section titled ‘agfood Services’, and this will bring you to the farmer home screen. At the bottom of the page, you will see a subsection named ‘View/enter most recent sheep census information’. In this section, you will see a drop-down in which you can select your herd number.
After selecting this, click on the ‘view/enter’ button. The sheep census screen will then be displayed for you to enter your information.
For an agent: For an agent to log on to the sheep census page, you need to enter your username and password, followed by the three required digits of the PAC number you were supplied with to reach the application menu.
From here, you select ‘Single Farm Payment’ under the authorised applications section. Now on the agent home screen you have to select a client from the client list which you can access by clicking the ‘client list’ button under the heading ‘choose a client’.
After choosing a client and clicking the ‘view’ button, you will be brought to the farmer home screen. At the bottom of this page, you will see a subsection named ‘view/enter most recent sheep census information’.
In this section, you will see a drop-down in which you can select the herd number you wish to submit the details for. After selecting this, click on the ‘view/enter’ button. The sheep census screen will then be displayed for you to enter your client’s information.
CLARIFICATIONS
Clarifications on breed eligibility and questions and answers on all aspects of completing the census application will be included in next week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.Contact details for Sheep Ireland
You will also see on the census application that there is a box to tick asking permission for your contact details to be transferred to Sheep Ireland.
Sheep Ireland is the organisation responsible for improving breeding in the national sheep flock.
We asked Eamon Wall, Sheep Ireland, to recap flockowners on the work the organisation is currently undertaking, its potential benefit to the industry and what farmers can expect to happen if they tick the box and allow their contact details to be transferred to Sheep Ireland.
“Sheep Ireland is the organisation with the responsibility to deliver additional profitability to our 33,000 sheep farmers through better breeding.
“Better breeding practices have delivered major returns to other livestock sectors in this country and Sheep Ireland hope to help our sheep industry to achieve the same level of progress.
“Sheep Ireland is funded through a mixture of industry and Government funding.
“Within every flock, there are sheep that outperform others – the same situation applies to our sheep on a national scale. Sheep Ireland’s intention is to highlight the better performing sheep (genetics) by collecting performance information and promoting these genetics to the wider industry through the sheep €uroStars.
“Through this year’s annual sheep census form, we are asking every flock owner in Ireland to tick a box on the form to allow the Department of Agriculture to make flock contact details available to Sheep Ireland.
“These details will not be used by any other organisation under any circumstances. Sheep Ireland’s intention is to circulate some information to sheep farmers from time to time (once a year) as to any progress or developments with sheep breeding in Ireland.
“The potential to produce more profitable sheep through the collection of performance information is unquestionable – however, we need this information to reach all those involved in the industry.
“By ticking the Sheep Ireland box on your census form, you will be helping to facilitate the progress of sheep breeding in your flock, and, indeed the national flock.”
Any farmers who held sheep in 2012, or who indicated on last year’s sheep census that they intended re-entering sheep farming in the immediate future, will have received an application form by post. Flockowners who did not receive an application form should contact the sheep identification section helpline on 1890-252713.
2012 changes
There are two main changes to the application form when compared to previous years.
The first is that additional information on breed type and numbers is required by the Department. This information is required to calculate stocking rates, compliance and maintenance of certain lands such as commonages and will be used to satisfy eligibility in schemes such as the Single Farm Payment, Disadvantaged Area Scheme, REPS, AEOS and the Grassland Sheep Scheme.
The application form requires details of mountain breeds and lowland breeds and the numbers held to be recorded on the application.
However, confusion has arisen as to the breeds eligible for classification as mountain breeds with Blackface Mountain and Cheviot indicated on the form as being the only eligible breeds.
The Department of Agriculture has told the Irish Farmers Journal that this is currently under discussion and will be clarified in next week’s Journal.
A further clarification will also be given as to what age of animal should be included when calculating ewe hoggets with confusion arising as to whether it should be ewe lambs born in 2012 or ewe hoggets born in 2011.
The advice for flockowners requiring clarification on these issues is to record the number of sheep on your holding on any day between 14-18 December but to hold off finalising and submitting the application form until clarifications are released on these issues in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.
Online applications
The second significant change is that farmers can also submit their 2012 Sheep Census online via the Department’s Agfood facility. This is the same system that can be used to submit your Single Farm Payment application online.
To use this system, an applicant must firstly be a registered user or register on the agfood.ie website. Alternatively, your agricultural adviser may be already registered as a user acting on your behalf.
Farmers can register as a user by following the link from the Department’s website www.agriculture.gov.ie. The information required is straightforward with your PPS number the only real additional information that may need to be previously sourced.
It is important to note that registration confirmation and use of the services is not instant. A password will be required for future logon to the system so ensure you retain this.
Following submission of your details, the Department will register you as a user. You will then receive confirmation of this by post along with a ‘PAC’ number and your user name. The PAC number is unique to you and is seven digits long.
Each time you log on, you will be asked for three random digits of the PAC number.
Navigating to the Sheep Census 2012 screen
For an individual farmer: After you have entered and submitted the three digits of your PAC number, along with your password, you will be directed to the application menu. You will need to choose ‘Single Farm Payment’ from the section titled ‘agfood Services’, and this will bring you to the farmer home screen. At the bottom of the page, you will see a subsection named ‘View/enter most recent sheep census information’. In this section, you will see a drop-down in which you can select your herd number.
After selecting this, click on the ‘view/enter’ button. The sheep census screen will then be displayed for you to enter your information.
For an agent: For an agent to log on to the sheep census page, you need to enter your username and password, followed by the three required digits of the PAC number you were supplied with to reach the application menu.
From here, you select ‘Single Farm Payment’ under the authorised applications section. Now on the agent home screen you have to select a client from the client list which you can access by clicking the ‘client list’ button under the heading ‘choose a client’.
After choosing a client and clicking the ‘view’ button, you will be brought to the farmer home screen. At the bottom of this page, you will see a subsection named ‘view/enter most recent sheep census information’.
In this section, you will see a drop-down in which you can select the herd number you wish to submit the details for. After selecting this, click on the ‘view/enter’ button. The sheep census screen will then be displayed for you to enter your client’s information.
CLARIFICATIONS
Clarifications on breed eligibility and questions and answers on all aspects of completing the census application will be included in next week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.Contact details for Sheep Ireland
You will also see on the census application that there is a box to tick asking permission for your contact details to be transferred to Sheep Ireland.
Sheep Ireland is the organisation responsible for improving breeding in the national sheep flock.
We asked Eamon Wall, Sheep Ireland, to recap flockowners on the work the organisation is currently undertaking, its potential benefit to the industry and what farmers can expect to happen if they tick the box and allow their contact details to be transferred to Sheep Ireland.
“Sheep Ireland is the organisation with the responsibility to deliver additional profitability to our 33,000 sheep farmers through better breeding.
“Better breeding practices have delivered major returns to other livestock sectors in this country and Sheep Ireland hope to help our sheep industry to achieve the same level of progress.
“Sheep Ireland is funded through a mixture of industry and Government funding.
“Within every flock, there are sheep that outperform others – the same situation applies to our sheep on a national scale. Sheep Ireland’s intention is to highlight the better performing sheep (genetics) by collecting performance information and promoting these genetics to the wider industry through the sheep €uroStars.
“Through this year’s annual sheep census form, we are asking every flock owner in Ireland to tick a box on the form to allow the Department of Agriculture to make flock contact details available to Sheep Ireland.
“These details will not be used by any other organisation under any circumstances. Sheep Ireland’s intention is to circulate some information to sheep farmers from time to time (once a year) as to any progress or developments with sheep breeding in Ireland.
“The potential to produce more profitable sheep through the collection of performance information is unquestionable – however, we need this information to reach all those involved in the industry.
“By ticking the Sheep Ireland box on your census form, you will be helping to facilitate the progress of sheep breeding in your flock, and, indeed the national flock.”
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