The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has welcomed the extension to the closing date for applications for the National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS).
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue confirmed on Friday (September 8), that the deadline has been extended to allow as many farmers as possible to apply for the scheme.
The closing date for the scheme was initially scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, September 12), but this has now be pushed back by two weeks to midnight on September 26.
Minister McConalogue said that farmers who want to participate in the scheme should engage with their vet early, as the infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) requirement must be completed by 5:30p.m on November 1.
ICSA
ICSA Animal Health and Welfare Committee chair Hugh Farrell said that the extension to the application deadline was positive.
“ICSA called for this extension so that clarity could be given around the inclusion of an IBR testing requirement as part of the scheme, and the implications of a positive test,” he said.
Under the new scheme farmers will be paid €15 for each animal tested for IBR, up to a maximum of 20 animals.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed to Agriland that “the sero-surveillance results do not impact on a farmer’s ability to trade animals”.
“We welcome the department’s clarifications on the issues we raised, which will no doubt lead to a greater uptake of the scheme in the coming weeks,” Farrell said.
DAFM also said that confirmed that individual IBR herd results will only be shared with the individual farmer and their vet.
Sample results pertaining to specific herds will not be shared with the department.
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), which is managing the scheme, will provide DAFM with data on herd number; the number of samples submitted; date of sampling and date of receipt so farmer payments can be processed.