Farmers will have the option to complete their applications for TB compensation under the On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme online from Thursday (September 30).
The new TB compensation portal will also allow farmers to accept or reject the valuation of their animals which will have been carried out on-farm by an independent valuer, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said.
“Farmers will continue to receive the valuation of their animals by hard copy from their valuer and can then log on to agfood.ie to accept or reject that valuation,” the department said.
“This new facility is aimed at reducing the amount of time TB reactors spend on-farm as it will expedite the response time from farmers to DAFM and eliminate the cost to farmers of forwarding forms by post.”
New TB compensation portal is ‘easy to use’
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said that this new portal is part of the department’s “commitment to maximising the benefits of technology in order to simplify life for farmers”.
“In addition, this new facility should also help in managing the risk of disease spread by reducing the amount of time a reactor is on-farm, something that farmers have always stressed is a priority for them,” the minister said.
“Farmers have proven that they are willing to embrace the advantages of online communication and DAFM intends to continue to develop our online facilities to meet that willingness.”
The department said while the new facility is “easy to use”, there will be a user manual available via the TB compensation section of the department’s website.