The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland has published the brucellosis compensation rates for June 2023.
The brucellosis compensation payable, for reactors and negative in contacts for which notice of intended slaughter is issued in June 2023 will be either:
- 75% of the animal’s market value;
- 75% of £2,268 (75% of £2,568 in the case of pedigree animals).
The selected measure will come down to whichever figure is the lesser, according to DAERA.
The department compensates herdkeepers when animals are compulsorily removed under the Brucellosis Control Order (Northern Ireland) 2004.
Last month’s compensation rates were announced on May 2 and were the same as the rates announced for this month.
NI sheep sector
An Ulster Wool director recently called for a tailored welfare payment system for sheep farmers in Northern Ireland.
Brendan Kelly issued a warning that Northern Ireland’s sheep sector needs to be more adequately supported and that farmers urgently need financial support.
Kelly said: “There are no specific support proposals for sheep within the package of post-Brexit support measures identified by former Minister for Agriculture, Edwin Poots.
“This is fundamentally wrong. We are already seeing farmers leaving the sector and I fear this trend will gather further momentum during the period ahead.”
Kelly said he is also concerned about the age profile of farmers within the sheep industry.
He said “there are no young people coming into the industry” and he believes that many of those working with sheep will be “retiring in the near future”.
Kelly said that the introduction of a sheep welfare payment system, similar to that already operating in the south of Ireland, could deliver much-needed financial support for sheep farmers, north of the border.
“An annual payment in the region of £12/ewe would make all the difference in this regard.”