Local authority nitrates inspections have been paused until Monday, April 22, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), has confirmed to Agriland.
Last week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue paused farm inspections not specifically required to support payments until April 22.
The decision to halt “non-essential” farm inspections came amid the ongoing pressure on farmers as a result of continuing and exceptional adverse weather conditions.
The DAFM today (Tuesday, April 9), confirmed to Agriland that the following farm inspections are currently paused:
- IDR (animal identification and registration) inspections;
- Local authority nitrates inspections;
- Pillar 2 remedial action checks;
- On the veterinary side, certain non-essential inspections (for example residue sampling, non-urgent discrepancy inspections etc.).
Farm inspections that will continue to be carried out over the next two weeks include:
- Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers inspections;
- Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) inspections;
- Animal health or welfare inspections (for example post-import bluetongue sampling, inspections necessary to facilitate the movement of reactors off farm etc.);
- New herd number application inspections.
Announcing the decision to pause “non-essential” farm inspections until April 22, the minister said he was conscious of the need to avoid any action that might affect payments to farmers.
Bord Bia audits
Meanwhile, Bord Bia has said that, amid the difficult time on Irish farms at the moment, it can reschedule audits for a time that is “convenient” for its farmer members.
In a statement, the Irish food board said: “Bord Bia is aware that spring is an exceptionally difficult time on Irish farms, even without the additional burden of poor weather conditions.
“Bord Bia is engaging with stakeholders and farmers to manage audits for farmers severely impacted by poor weather.
“We would urge all farmers with upcoming audits to engage with Bord Bia, who will be as flexible as possible and can reschedule the audit for a time that is convenient for our farmer members.”