News from Ireland

EU to fund dairy council push to raise sales abroad The EU is providing over €400,000 for Ireland to promote dairy products as part of a €800,000 push by the National Dairy Council to increase sales. ... McGuinness wary of cuts to farmers' payments Direct payments to Irish farmers could be reduced by much more than previously anticipated, Ireland East MEP Mairead McGuinness has warned. "Alarmi... Irish eyes on Kiwi dairying New Zealand dairy farmers should continue to focus on the competitive advantage they gain from their ability to grow good grass, says an Irish farming... Dairy entrepreneur who became cream of the crop Edmond Harty has helped Kerry-based Dairymaster to become a world leader in dairy equipment manufacture. Some farmers say picking a new milking par... Farmer must pay €20,000 after destroying ring forts A farmer who demolished two ancient ring forts must pay fines and penalties of €20,000. Patrick Desmond (41) was convicted on two counts of failing... Irish eyes on Kiwi dairying New Zealand dairy farmers should continue to focus on the competitive advantage they gain from their ability to grow good grass, says an Irish farming... Schmallenberg threat to sheep Sheep farmers are praying for a prolonged spell of cold weather to kill off a midge population that could be carrying the Schmallenberg virus. Bree... Virus found in Down and Cork cases In the North, the first case of Schmallenberg Virus, SBV, was confirmed in a calf in County Down on Thursday, two days after a confirmed case in a far... First case of rare virus found in Irish cattle A rare cattle and sheep virus has spread to an Irish herd from Europe. The Department of Agriculture confirmed that a case of Schmallenberg Virus h... Farmer dies after farm safety campaign launched in North Just days after it was announced that a campaign of farm safety events will begin in November in the North, a farmer has died in a farming accident in... Farmers caution against cuts to sector Farmers are facing a 30 per cent drop in incomes this year as a result of the bad weather and rising costs, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has w... Fertility woes costing liquid milk farmers €20k per year Fertility problems in liquid milk herds are costing farmers more than €20,000 each year, new research from Teagasc has revealed. Long calving inter... Women have increasing role in agriculture The role of women in agriculture has changed greatly in recent years, a conference heard yesterday. The editor of Country Living at the Farmers Jou... Dairymen urged to exploit beef crossbreeds Demand for Angus and Hereford crossbred calves from the dairy herd far exceeds supply and the gap in the market should be exploited by farmers to prod... Armed gang demanded £320k ransom to release cattle dealer An armed gang who kidnapped a cattle dealer and held him captive for five days tried to extort a €400,000 (£322,000) ransom from his father, a court h... Farmers get €0.5bn early EU payments Farmers are to get advance payments of half a billion euro worth of European subsidies starting next Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney sa... Agriculture talks 'a real challenge' Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has said “it is going to be a real challenge” to get an acceptable outcome from negotiations on the Common Agri... Irish farmers protest in Dublin over CAP reforms Up to 10,000 farmers are to demonstrate in Dublin on Tuesday over their concerns about future EU and government funding. The Irish Farmers' Associa... Ex-cattle farmer is first victim of animal superbug An elderly man living in a nursing home has become the first person in Ireland to have a strain of the MRSA superbug previously only found in animals.... Rural revolt as half of farmers refuse to pay septic tank fees The Government is facing a rural revolt on the septic tank charge as more than half of the country's farmers had not registered by late last week. ... Farm deaths campaign has huge response in Ireland A graphic media campaign aimed at saving lives on farms has provoked a huge reaction in the Republic of Ireland. The Health and Safety Authority is... High-earning farmers to lose out in new CAP deal High-earning farmers will lose the most in a forthcoming overhaul of subsidies -- but lower earners will get more, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney ... Beef still a solid bet despite a perfect storm this summer The sharp cut in beef prices -- more than 30c/kg since the middle of July -- has dented cattle farmers' confidence. Whether that confidence was mis... Farmers face €120m feed bill as cost of weather hits home Farmers face an extra €120m feed bill because of the bad weather during the summer months - a topic that will set tongues wagging at the National Plou... Cross-border operation to combat sheep smuggling A major cross-border operation has been carried out into alleged sheep smuggling between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It took plac... Shops reject 25pc of potatoes for being too ugly Ugly spuds are proving a blight on the finances of farmers, as supermarkets reject up to a quarter of produce because of their looks. Many big chai... Anxious factories restore cattle sellers' confidence A late call with a good result and I'm not talking about Joe Canning's last-gasp equalising free on Sunday. No, just before going to press with this c... Farmers battle factories in bid to halt quote cuts Attempts by the sheep factories to cut quotes appear to be meeting strong resistance from farmers this week. Some factory agents commented on the tigh... Agri-food exports 12% higher last year Agri-food exports increased by 12 per cent last year and gained footholds in new markets, but Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has warned that c... Rain cost farmers €200m, says IFA The wet weather conditions have cost farmers more than €200 million this summer, with losses mounting every day, Irish Farmers’ Association president ... Ominous rise in liver fluke cases Cattle and sheep producers are facing a dramatic increase in the incidence of liver fluke, following one of the wettest summers on record. Vets hav... 'Angel dust' discovered on farm in Monaghan An illegal growth hormone, commonly known as angel dust, has been detected on a farm in the Republic of Ireland for the first time since 1999. The ... Seed quality deteriorates as harvest crawls on Harvesting of winter barley continues to stumble along, with less than 10pc of the crop cut in some parts of the country. Where weather conditions ... Harvest profits in danger due to wet weather This year's harvest is struggling to get going. I cannot recall any previous season in which winter barley had not been harvested by August 1. Early i... Irish farmers to get EU payment early The European Commission has agreed to allow farmers to receive half of their single farm payment in October, instead of December, because of the bad w... Farmer incomes predicted to fall Last year's 30 per cent increase in farm incomes will be largely wiped out this year because of difficult weather conditions, according to a Teagasc m... Farm margins slashed by up to 40% in rainfall Net margins on heavy soil farms can be reduced by up to 40pc in high rainfall years, according to new research at Solohead. High rainfall years, su... Compensating farmers for rain 'a crazy policy' Compensating farmers for wet weather would be “a crazy policy”, the Minister for Agriculture has said. Simon Coveney yesterday ruled out any compen... Problems must be tackled if farm sector is to prosper Irish farming has had two outstanding years but the agricultural sector faces big structural problems which are a hindrance to further development. Th... Illegal turf cutters face cuts in their farm payments The Dept of Agriculture have been warned to ‘think long and hard’ before getting embroiled in the bogs controversy that has raged in the West over rec... Continuing wet conditions dampen trade prospects The mart trade for cattle remained strong throughout the past week. Despite beef prices and quotes under pressure at the factories any well fleshed st... Factory bosses flag price cut for bull beef Up to 330,000 extra cattle and an increasing number of customer complaints have convinced factory bosses that bull beef prices should be slashed. B... Coveney on US beef export mission Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney met his US counterpart Tom Vilsack yesterday “to encourage him to make a decision as early as possible” about r... Value of Irish agriculture rises The value of the Irish agriculture sector increased by 16.8 per cent in 2011 to €907.7 million, according to the Irish CSO Livestock Reports. The v... Science needs to spark a bumper harvest Radical Science and innovation in farming will be vital to produce the food that the world will need by 2050, the 28th annual symposium of Dunboyne-he... Fund launched to grow Irish potatoes in Africa Irish agribusiness are being offered financial and political support to set up in Africa. Launching a new €5 million aid programme to grow Irish po... Tougher TB rules could be in pipeline TB rules are set to be tightened further despite the furore over the increased restrictions introduced on January 1 this year. Department of Agricu... China visit to look at Irish beef production Chinese Vice Minister Gao Hongbin confirmed that arrangements are being made by the Chinese authorities to send a full technical team to Ireland in th... Elderly farmer killed by cow An elderly farmer tragically died trying to save his son as he was being attacked by a cow. Foreign investors buy into Irish dairying A group of foreign financiers is examining the possibility of investing up to €50m in Irish dairy production, it has been revealed. The Irish agri-...