Tag Archives: ICMSA

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 …

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), along with ICMSA, this morning (Wednesday) mounted a protest at the Regional Veterinary Laboratory in Knockalisheen, Meelick over the possible closure of the facility. The protest was scheduled to coincide with a trip to lab by a review group from the Department of Agriculture and was led by ICSA general secretary Eddie Punch and rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock. Speaking at the protest, the ICSA general secretary said, “This proposal makes no sense at all. The lab is a vital resource with helping farmers determine the cause of mortality and with helping them get on top of infectious diseases another animal health issues as soon as possible. Closing it down will have a huge detrimental effect on animal health and welfare. It will also hinder farmers efforts to be more efficient in reducing mortality. We had an exchange of views with the Department officials here and we will be having further discussions …

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 …

Despite  the strong supply situation globally, dairy markets over the past month have shown perceptible improvements and Irish dairy farmers expect that these developments will be reflected in the Irish Dairy Board price index for June. That’s according to Pat McCormack, deputy president and chairperson of ICMSA’s dairy committee. “At this stage, there is strong evidence to suggest that the marketplace has factored in strong global supplies and a number of major market indicators have shown positive moves over the last month – actually, as recently as this week the significant product categories all went up,” said Mr McCormack. “Prices on spot milk markets have improved with the Dutch dairy quotas running close to 4% higher for butter than this time last month, increasing by 3% and WMP remaining stable. In Italy, for instance, according to the newly established Milk Monitoring Observatory (MMO), the spot milk price increased by 10.5% in the last four weeks and in the Netherlands, the spot …

Thousands of suckler farmers in Clare are facing an “income crisis” unless urgent action is taken to address serious issues in the beef industry, local farm leaders have warned. It has been claimed that weanling bull prices could drop by over €300 when sales commence next month. Farming representatives are fearful that weanling prices may be down by as much as 25% on 2013 prices, which would reflect an overall drop of 80 to 85 cent per kilo in the average beef price. With an estimated 5,000 suckler producers in the Banner County, the next few months will determine if this enterprise is viable. Clare IFA chairman, Andrew Dundas, said the Single Farm Payment was effectively subsidising operators in a lot of cases, which couldn’t continue. He confirmed the IFA is organising a meeting with the Northern Minister for Agriculture, Michelle O’Neill, to try and address the absence of Northern Ireland buyers in local marts and other issues. If live …

A Commemorative plaque, honouring the late John O’Gorman will be unveiled in  Doonbeg village on this Saturday at 2pm. Already remembered for his huge contribution to Clare GAA, in the form of the O’Gorman Cup, John O’Gorman’s contribution to the ICMSA will now be acknowledged on Saturday. He was the first national vice-chairman of the ICMSA, which was established following a meeting in Nenagh on July 8, 1950. Incredibly, John O’Gorman cycled to that meeting in Nenagh with a neighbour from Clohanes, Doonbeg. They left home at 4am on the day of the meeting, returning the following morning at 4am. Martin McMahon, Clare ICMSA chairman, paid tribute to John O’Gorman this week, saying the Doonbeg man was a visionary figure. “He got up off his backside, went to Nenagh and formed the ICMSA. We owe him a huge debt. He saw that there was a need for representation for farmers and he saw the changes in the times,” Martin McMahon …