Tag Archives: Department of Agriculture

CLARE County Council has issued a reminder to farmers of the importance of only employing the services of correctly authorised waste collectors, who hold a valid and current waste collection permit. The local authority notes it is a legal requirement for any person or company involved in the collection of waste, such as farm plastics and scrap metal, to hold a waste collection permit.It also says that authorised waste collectors are also required to provide a collection permit to a farmer prior to waste being collected and removed from a farm. Waste collection permits contain a unique waste collection permit reference number, the name and address of the collector, the waste types the collector is permitted to collect, the registration details of each vehicle involved in the collection service, and the name and address of the authorised waste facility where waste is to be delivered. In addition, the waste collection permit reference number must be clearly displayed on the cab …

ELDERLY farmers living in isolated areas could be targeted by criminals following the publication of names of recipients of direct Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) payments. Under CAP, for the 12 months up to October 2014, €75.58 million was shared by 6,310 Clare farmers. Farm leaders believe some elderly farmers in very rural areas “are now living in fear that criminals will use the details of their CAP payments as a reason to attack them and extort money from them in their own homes”. The publication of payments on the Department of Agriculture website has been described as an “invasion of privacy” and farm leaders are angry that they are the only group that has been singled out for what they claim is unfair treatment. Farm leaders have also pointed out that the published figures for individual farmers are gross amounts that do not represent the real profit on a farm after all the day-to-day expenses and costs are deducted. The …

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Tom Hayes has today reminded forest owners and managers, farmers and members of the public of the need to be alert to the risk of wildfires over the coming weeks. “In recent years we have experienced a number of major wildfires that destroyed or damaged property, including farmland and forests. These events endanger people’s homes, place enormous strain on the resources of the emergency services and put the lives of rural dwellers and emergency service personnel at considerable risk,” he said. The minister noted that following dry weather patterns, a wildfire risk can quickly develop in all areas where flammable vegetation such as grasses, gorse and heather are present, especially in proximity to forests and other assets. He has asked land owners, rural dwellers and other land users to maintain a high degree of vigilance regarding fire over the coming months. Suspicious activity should be reported to the gardaí and uncontrolled or …

Six Clare animal welfare groups are to receive funding totalling €34,700 to assist them in their work next year. The announcement comes as Senator Tony Mulcahy appealed to parents and others to think responsibly when considering giving a pet as a present this Christmas. He also urged people to heed the warnings and advice offered by the animal welfare organisations in this regard. The Clare groups in line for payments include Clare SPCA, Newmarket on Fergus (€15,000); Second Chance Animal Welfare Ltd., Shannon (€9,800); Rover Rescue, Ennis (€3,600); An Cat Dubh Sanctuary, Clounlaheen East, Mullagh (€2,400); Burren Animal Rescue, Rockforest, Tubber (€2,100); and Irish Whale & Dolphin Group, Kilrush (€1,800). The ex-gratia payments form part of an allocation totalling €1,867,200 which is being distributed to 142 animal welfare bodies throughout Ireland to assist in their work during the coming year. Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy said this year’s County Clare allocation is almost €2,000 higher than the figure received in …

Payments are beginning to issue from today (Wednesday) to almost 2,800 Clare farmers under the Beef Genomics Scheme and the Grassland Sheep Scheme. The total payout will amount to €1.7 million. Senator Tony Mulcahy, who obtained figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, explained the breakdown – €1,674,840 to 2,354 Clare sucker farmers, as well as €97,070 to 444 Clare sheep farmers. He said the payments would provide a very important and timely boost to support incomes in both the beef and sheep sectors”. The Beef Genomics Scheme was introduced in 2014 and is fully funded by the National Exchequer. The Grassland Sheep Scheme, which will be discontinued in its present form in January 2015, is based on the current EU Regulation governing direct payments in the form of the Single Payment Scheme.

Clare farmers have been urged to apply for grants being made available under the new Farm Safety Scheme. In making the call, Deputy Michael McNamara said, “Concerns over the issue of farm safety are at an all-time high following a number of accidents across the country recently. I am glad that the Department of Agriculture has responded to these concerns quickly by making the Farm Safety Scheme a reality, so that we can all work to reduce the number of farm-related accidents and deaths. “This is a once-off scheme and it incentivises farmers to invest in new equipment, facilities and other preventative measures. A comprehensive list of investment items covered under this new scheme is available on the department’s website and I would encourage anyone interested in applying to the scheme to examine it for more detail,” The Labour deputy added, “In the meantime, I am pleased it contains safety fencing and covers for external slurry and effluent stores, which will …

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced that nitrogen and phosphorus statements for the period January 1 to September 30 are available on-line for all farmers registered with agfood.ie. These statements are a valuable tool, especially for the more intensive farmers, and should assist them in deciding whether or not they need to change their farming practices before the end of the year to stay within the limits set down in the Nitrates Regulations. The department also confirmed that it will notify certain farmers in the coming days of their interim nitrogen and phosphorus statement covering cattle numbers held on the farm for the nine month period up to September 30. This will be done by text message. This follows on from a similar exercise earlier this year for the six month period from January to June. Farmers not already registered for agfood.ie can do so by logging onto www.agfood.ie<http://www.agfood.ie> and clicking the ‘Register’ button.

Deputy president and chairperson of ICMSA’s Dairy Committee, Pat McCormack has advised farmers to be alert to the fact that this Friday is the deadline for the Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal Hardship Scheme. With a super levy fine almost inevitable for the final year of milk quotas, an additional allocation under the Hardship Scheme would alleviate some pressure for the farmer in question, he said. Mr McCormack reminded farmers that the tribunal gives priority to small scale producers who are committed to and highly dependent on dairying and that only those producers with a total permanent quota of less than 280,000 litres, at the date of application, will be considered for an allocation under this scheme. Mr McCormack noted that if successful, the allocation is free of charge and he said that any farmer under 280,000 litres who expects to have a superlevy problem should consider applying with application forms available from the Department of Agriculture and the co-op.