Ewes left out of the scheme due to underfunding, and a lack of knowledge of how sheep farms operate, are just some of the issues highlighted by one farm organisation regarding the new Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS).
The sheep chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Kevin Comiskey has said that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has left a lot to be desired in the SIS.
Speaking to Agriland, Comiskey said: “The Minster for Agriculture has already excluded a million ewes from the scheme due to it being underfunded. As well as that, he will now exclude more due to complexities in the terms and conditions of the scheme.
“The minister and his department should have taken the time over the past two years to familiarise themselves with how sheep farms operate.
“He should also familiarise himself with the value of €2 – the amount extra, farmers will gain compared to the Sheep Welfare Scheme per head – and how far it goes in the cost of feeding a ewe.
“As far as I’m concerned, its only value is for getting a trolley in the local store.”
The IFA sheep chair has claimed that the scheme falls down in a number of areas, highlighting that:
- 60-70% of farmers scan sheep in January and this action will not cover them for scheme in 2023;
- Insisting on nominating a year to buy 4- or 5-star ram which will only increase price and puts pressure on availability;
- Confusion around mineral supplements should either be available to a ewe for 60 days after ram turn out or post mating, it cannot be both, as one contradicts the other;
- If a farmer scans his ewes and for instance has five barren ewes, they should be able to sell those ewes and replace them with Electronic Identification Tagged (EID) fully traceable ewe lambs of any age.
“These are the things the minster and his department should familiarise themselves with, as unfortunately farmers are all too familiar with complicated schemes,” Comiskey concluded.