The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has clarified the position around the duration of the Dairy Herd Certificate to the ICMSA (Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association), the organisation has said.
Where a farmer gets his or her Dairy Herd Certificate signed along with his or her herd test, then that cert will cover the whole of 2018, the department confirmed.
Gerald Quain, the ICMSA’s Dairy Committee Chairperson, said that while this has always been the case up to 2017, dairy farmers have recently been contacting the association to express concerns.
Quain said that such a scenario would have been totally impractical from a farmer’s perspective and would have imposed unnecessary complexities and anomalies into the regime.
Following an exchange with the department on this matter, Quain said that he was pleased to confirm that the department had reviewed its position on the issue and that the cert will now cover the all of 2018 – regardless of whether that amounts to more than 365 days.
‘70% BPS advance payment needed’
Earlier today, the ICMSA’s Deputy President, Pat McCormack, called on the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, to secure a 70% advance payment of the BPS (Basic Payment Scheme) / Greening payment.
McCormack stressed that the need to do so had increased considerably in recent weeks, due to adverse weather conditions throughout the country that are causing difficulties for all farmers.
He noted that while the situation in Co. Donegal is particularly bad with local farmers suffering severe losses, right throughout the country – specifically the northern half – land is extremely heavy and wet with cattle having to be housed, while crops remain unharvested in the fields.
The deputy president said that for many years farmers have received a 70% advance payment on October 16. This schedule has been built into loan repayment schedules, while also assuming importance in the context of paying annual income tax payment, he concluded.