22 TB reactor valuations disputed in first half of 2026
Latest figures suggest that 10 farmers challenged an initial TB reactor valuation during the first half of 2026.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in the six months to the end of June there were a total of 22 TB inital reactor valuations disputed.
There were 2,761 live valuations of TB reactors carried out in the first six months of the year.
DAFM disputed 12 first valuations in the On Farm Market Valuation (OFMV) scheme and zero at the second valuation stage.
The OFMV is the main compensation scheme available to farmers who have TB in their herd.
It provides compensation to farmers up to the market value that each individual animal would have achieved on the open market if it had not come down with TB.
Last year OFMV costs totalled €62.7 million, while latest official DAFM statistics show that by the end of quarter two 2026 OFMV costs were more than €28 million.
TB
Under the OFMV Scheme, live valuations of TB reactors are carried out by a panel of independent valuers.
A DAFM spokesperson said: "Following a herd TB breakdown, the farmer is offered a choice of valuer from those operating in their geographical area.
"In the vast majority of cases, the valuation is accepted by both the farmer and the department.
"The valuation may however be rejected by either the farmer or the department".
Valuations
Based on DAFM figures for 2025 farmers challenged valuations more often than the department.
Last year farmers rejected 44 initial valuations compared with 25 rejected by DAFM.
However the figures also suggest that the majority of valuations are accepted first time.
In 2025 7,655 valuations were carried out and more than 99% of these were accepted first time around.
If a valuation is rejected this triggers a second live valuation and if this in turn is rejected the case proceeds to arbitration where the value is decided upon by an independent arbitration panel.
But the latest figures show that only 13 second valuations were rejected last year which works out at around one in every 590 valuations, while in the first half of 2026 only three second valuations were rejected.
