Tag Archives: farmers

Hundreds of people from the Burren and further afield gathered over the recent October Bank Holiday Weekend to join in the Burren Winterage Weekend, a celebration of the Burren’s unique farming heritage. For thousands of years, Burren farmers have marked the end of summer by herding their cattle up onto winter pastures in the limestone uplands, in the tradition known as winterage and the Burren is one of the only places in the world where it still occurs. Winterage has been integral to shaping today’s familiar Burren landscape. With coordination support by local landscape charity Burrenbeo Trust, community members put on an amazing range of events including a community gathering, herdsman walk, heritage walks in Ballyvaughan and Fanore, farmers market and farming innovation fair. The weekend culminated in the community cattle drive where the community followed a herd of cattle into the Burren hills where they will spend the winter. The weekend was a great celebration of this rich tradition …

The financial costs of agricultural crime is an unacceptable burden and one that cannot be written off as part and parcel of life in rural Ireland. That is the blunt observation of ICSA president Patrick Keny, who was speaking following the publication of the second tranche of ICSA’s Agricultural Crime Survey undertaken with Waterford Institute of Technology. The focus of this tranche is the Financial Costs of Agricultural Crime in Ireland. “We now have proof that agricultural crime is hitting farmers’ pockets at a time when most are struggling to make ends meet at all. Theft, vandalism and fly-tipping all have serious cost implications for farmers, as do increased insurance premiums when farmers have to make a claim. The report is hugely important as determining the costs of agricultural crime provides the justification for spending scarce resources on tackling the issue,” he said. The results of the survey indicate for the first time the true costs of agricultural crime to …

AGRI Aware, the independent Irish agri-food educational body, is asking shoppers to think local and support Irish farmers and food producers when purchasing food for the festive season. By filling your shopping basket with quality and seasonal Irish produce, consumers are making the smart choice. “Irish food is of the highest quality, it is sustainably produced and traceable and it is affordable for consumers,” explained Agri Aware’s chairman and organic farmer, Richard Moeran. Agri Aware is asking consumers to be mindful of the damage which below cost selling can have on farmers and food producers. Below cost selling and heavy discounting of fresh produces diminishes the value of food to consumers and removes the link between the costs of production for the farmer and the price charged for the product. “Simply put, continuous below cost selling results in consumers expecting heavily discounted food year-round. Unfortunately, these discounts mean that over time, lower prices become the norm in shops across the country, …

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has issued an appeal to farmers to be vigilant when harvesting silage and spreading slurry to avoid water pollution. Silage operations are ongoing all summer and silage effluent has the potential to cause devastating pollution in streams and rivers. Silage effluent is one of the most polluting substances to threaten the environment and can cause massive fish kills if it enters a watercourse. Slurry spread on grassland over the summer months can also wipe out fish and invertebrate life if allowed to enter a stream. Water levels in streams and rivers are low in the summer months and have less dilution capacity, so are particularly vulnerable to pollution at this time. Dr Greg Forde, head of operations at IFI, said, “The fisheries service is appealing to all farmers and contractors to be careful that no silage effluent is allowed to run off into drains or watercourses. Round bales are the most environmentally friendly way to store …

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) have urged road users to take extra care as the number of tractors, trailers and other farm machinery using the roads increases. The appeal comes as farmers avail of the improved weather conditions to bring in silage. In an effort to raise awareness of the likely increase in agricultural traffic using the roads and the need for all road users to take extra care, the RSA and IFA will be broadcasting their 30-second radio advert on national and local media this week. The advert reminds all drivers and those driving agricultural vehicles to use common sense and share the road responsibly. Moyagh Murdock, CEO, SRA, said “This is a busy time of year for farmers. The number of tractors and trailers out using the roads will increase dramatically over the next few weeks. As a result the risk of a collision involving a road user and farm machinery will …

ICSA Rural Development chairman Seamus Sherlock has expressed concerns for the health and well-being of vulnerable farmers, who are experiencing difficulties coping with bad prices and the recent bad weather. Mr Sherlock was speaking ahead of a meeting on Rural Isolation and Mental Health in farming to be held in Carrigaholt on this Thursday evening. “ICSA understands what these farmers are going through and we will support them through these difficult times. The reality of the situation is often very different to public opinion. Poor prices coupled with high costs makes farming very difficult and stressful. Bad weather is also placing a very heavy burden on already struggling farmers”, said Mr Sherlock. “The fodder crisis of 2013 is still ingrained in many farmers’ minds and I hope lessons have been learned by government so that this will never be allowed to develop again. I am looking forward to meeting the people of west Clare on Thursday night and I will …

Clare farmers are being encouraged to avail of an upcoming opportunity to dispose of their hazardous wastes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has teamed up with Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Local Authorities, WEEE Ireland and the European Recycling Platform (ERP) to operate 10 bring centres for the collection of farm hazardous waste across the country, one of which will be located in Ennis next Monday, from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Waste items ranging from out-of-date pesticides to waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) and from waste engine oil to contaminated waste packaging can be deposited at Ennis Mart. The farm hazardous waste campaign was successfully piloted in 2013 and ran again in 2014. Over 3,000 farmers brought waste to 16 collection centres and disposed of 260 tonnes of hazardous waste and 100 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and batteries. “This scheme provides farmers with an excellent opportunity to dispose of their hazardous wastes …

A new package of measures has been announced by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney to address difficulties in the dairy and pigmeat sectors. This is good news for Clare farmers, according to Fine Gael TD Pat Breen. “These measures are very welcome for Irish dairy and pigmeat farmers. Particularly positive is the decision made by the EU Commission to allow advance payments of 70% under the direct payments scheme and 85% for rural development schemes before completion of controls. These advance payments are expected to be made to farmers in Clare by mid-October and should significantly ease cash flow, he said. Deputy Breen said this package from the EU Commission is the result of hard work at a European level by the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and reflects the majority of the demands presented by the Minister to the Commission in a six point plan. “The increase of more than 100% in the rate of private storage aid for …