Census forms have been issued to over 48,000 sheep and goat farmers registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
If you are a keeper of sheep or goats, you are legally obliged to complete and return the census form – so be sure to mark Friday, December 31 in the diary as ‘census day’.
Failure to return a completed form on time could impact on eligibility for certain schemes, the DAFM has advised.
The sheep and goat censuses provide valuable statistical information to the DAFM and other organisations involved in the development of the industry.
For individual farmers, submission of a completed census is central in declaring that required stocking rates are being maintained and facilitates the drawing down of payments under schemes such as the Sheep Welfare Scheme, Basic Payment Scheme, Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme, Agri Environment Options Scheme, Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme, for example.
Census information is further used during farm/flock inspections where the inspector has details of the census returns submitted for the holding in the last number of years.
This information is used as the basis for identifying whether animal records have been adequately maintained through the keeper flock register.
The DAFM encourages all keepers to return their census data online via www.agfood.ie
While postal returns will be accepted, the cut off date for submission is January 31, 2022. Completed forms returned by post must arrive at the address printed on the envelope provided with the census form no later than that date. It is not permitted to submit forms by post through any office of the DAFM.
An extended deadline of February 14, 2022 applies to online returns only.
The benefits of using the online census facility, according to the DAFM, include:
- An extended closing date to February 14, 2022;
- The facility to view census history;
- Peace of mind that 2021 census details have been submitted successfully;
- No additional inconvenience or costs associated with registering a postal return;
- Sheep keepers registered for online services can order books of sheep dispatch/movement documents online through the Animal Identification and Movements (AIM) system.
Keepers who are not already registered on www.agfood.ie can do so by logging on to www.agfood.ie and clicking the option to ‘register’.
Keepers using online services for the first time must allow sufficient time for their personal log-on details to be sent to them by post after they register.
These details will be required for secure connection to the AIM database to submit census data.
A step-by-step guide to completing the Census online is provided on the back of the 2021 census form.