The Department of Agriculture is about to announce grant aid for livestock marts, for the installation of display systems to show the BDGP (Beef Data and Genomics Programme) information.

Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) has welcomed the announcement of grant aid for enhanced new electronic data displays in marts throughout the country.

The grant assistance was announced today by Minister Creed as he visited Bandon Mart in Co. Cork. It follows representations made by ICOS seeking the Department to support an improvement in the farmer information systems available in marts nationwide.

New Mart Screen

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Newline ASP

The Department will now provide up to 40% in funding for the purchase of one new ringside display screen per livestock mart which will display relevant ICBF breeding values for beef and dairy replacement stock when they are sold in livestock marts. Screens can cost as much as €10,000 each.

The screens will allow for the uniform display of information for farmers, including EBI and beef genomics data, which will be of widespread benefit to the Irish livestock sector.

Newline ASP have been working closely with the ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeders Federation) to develop software to display this information on our display systems and throughout the past ten months or so we have been displaying this information on a pilot basis in a number of livestock marts throughout the country and we are ready to roll out this display system to all of our clients right away.