The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has today (Monday, December 18) begun issuing annual sheep and goat census forms to over 49,000 registered farmers.
In keeping with previous years, the department has selected Sunday, December 31 as the 2023 census date.
The department is reminding farmers that completion and return of the census form is a legal obligation.
The census data must also be recorded on a farmer’s flock register.
The department said that failure to return a completed form on time could impact on eligibility for certain DAFM schemes.
If farmers prefer the option of a postal return, the completed forms must arrive at the address printed on the envelope provided with the census form no later than January 31, 2024.
It is not permitted to submit forms by post through any office of the department.
Farmers were reminded that, in the case of dispute regarding postal returns, the only acceptable proof of postage is a registered post receipt.
However, the department is encouraging keepers to return their census data online via agfood.ie or digitally through the new Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) Services mobile app.
The new app can be downloaded to a mobile device and can be accessed using the farmer’s agfood.ie username and password.
An extended deadline of February 14, 2024 applies to returns submitted online or via the app only.
The online and app submission provides real-time confirmation to farmers when census information has been submitted successfully.
A step-by-step guide to completing the census on-line is provided on the back of the 2023 census form.
A separate leaflet is included with the census form, providing instructions on how to complete the census through the AIM service app.
Keepers who are not already registered online can do so by logging on to agfood.ie and clicking the option to ‘register’.
DAFM
The department said that completion of the 2023 census both online and through the mobile app will remain an option until end-November 2024.
Returns made after that date must be submitted in paper form to the department’s office in Backweston, Co. Kildare.
“However, it should be stressed that 2023 census data submitted in paper form after January 31, 2024 or online/through the app after February 14 2024 will be considered to be late,” a DAFM spokesperson said.
Late submission of sheep and goat census information may have implications for a farmer’s eligibility for certain DAFM schemes.
The sheep and goat censuses provide valuable statistical information to the department and other organisations involved in the development of the industry.
The submission of a completed census is central in determining stocking rates and facilitates the drawing down of payments under schemes such as the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS), Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) and the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS).
Failure to return the census on time may impact on other future related payments from the department.
The information is also used as part of farm/flock inspections where the inspector has details of the census returns submitted for the holding in the last number of years.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue thanked sheep and goat keepers for their ongoing engagement with the census process, where response rates of some 90% are generally achieved.