Bord Bia to conduct farm audits remotely during Level 5

Bord Bia is to resume conducting farm audits remotely later this week, the Irish food board has confirmed.

In a statement today (Tuesday, October 20), a spokesperson for Bord Bia said:

“In line with the government’s ‘Plan for Living with Covid 19’, as of Thursday, October 22, all farm audits will be conducted remotely while Level 5 restrictions remain in place.

Any on-farm audits currently scheduled will be rescheduled as remote audits. Bord Bia will contact each affected farmer directly to reschedule.

“Since remote audits were introduced in April 2020, over 17,000 remote audits have been conducted with beef, sheep and dairy farmers and Bord Bia is grateful for the cooperation of all our farmer members in adapting to these measures.

“If any farmer has a query about an upcoming audit or would like guidance on completing a remote audit, they can contact the Bord Bia Helpdesk on: 01-5240410, open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 8:00pm,” the spokesperson concluded.

Level 5 restrictions

In a statement last night, the government announced that it decided today that, as of midnight tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21, all of Ireland will be placed on Level 5 of the “Plan for Living with Covid” with a small number of exceptions.

This action, the government says, “is based on current public health advice, the deteriorating situation with the disease across the country and the government’s objectives to support families by keeping schools and childcare facilities open, maintaining non-Covid health services and protecting the vulnerable”.

Level 5 restrictions will remain in place for a period of six weeks, through to Tuesday, December 1, the government says.