Changes to payment arrangements for tuberculosis (TB) testing and compensation have been welcomed by farm organisations, though they believe some issues remain.
Yesterday (Tuesday, February 28), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced that compensation rates would be increased for farmers who go down with TB.
Furthermore, a “once-off contribution” will be made to breeding herds that are required to carry out additional testing in line with new TB regulations.
Reacting to this, TJ Maher, the animal health chairperson for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), said: “The improved financial support schemes will reduce the burden and costs associated with TB breakdowns on our farms.”
Additional measures around the wildlife control programme will, Maher said, “address one of the key drivers of the disease in our cattle”.
He also welcomed changes to the live valuation scheme which, he said, will “ensure we receive the correct market price for the animals taken from our farms.
The agreement reached in the TB Stakeholder Forum will see increases to the income supplement, the depopulation grant, and the hardship grant.
“The other significant change to the scheme is that farmers will now become eligible for these payments on the date the reactors are identified on the farm as opposed to the date of removal from the farm.”
According to Maher, the changes will also allow farmers to purchase animals when restricted while still retaining live valuation entitlement for the purchased animals and income supplement entitlement for the herd.
Permission to purchase will be required in agreement with the local regional veterinary office (RVO) in these cases.
One of the most contentious issues dealt with by the TB forum was the question of how additional testing – in line with the new regulations – would be paid for.
Maher said that reaching agreement on all these measures required agreement on a funding model for the next two years, and that this agreement includes funding commitments that will fall on both the department and farmers.
“While huge progress has been made, there are still a number of issues to be resolved,” Maher added.
ICSA reaction to TB changes
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said that farmers have “gained important concessions”, but that the department “still has questions to answer” around the financial support for pre- and post-movement testing.
Hugh Farrell, the association’s animal health chairperson, said he was “taken aback” by a statement from the department yesterday, which referred to the payment for additional testing as “a transitional measure” and a “once-off contribution”.
Farrell said: “It was our understanding that the €70 contribution provided to breeding herds who need to carry out additional testing, as part of the new pre- and post-movement testing requirements, would be reviewed at the end of the year.
“The statement [from the department] makes no mention of this… ICSA did not agree to this being a once-off payment. We accepted a review in 12 months’ time.”
Outlining some of the main parts of the agreement, Farrell said: “From now on the maximum payment for pedigree cows and in-calf heifers will increase from €3,000 to €5,000 with no upper limit of the number of animals from one herd that can qualify for this increased amount.”
He also said that compensation was secured of up to €5,000 for up to three pedigree bulls per herd.
“Before this agreement, the maximum number of pedigree bulls that could obtain up to the maximum compensation was just one. In addition, the burden on the farmer to provide the pedigree cert has been removed,” the ICSA animal health chair added.
He said that the new arrangement to allow farmers to buy in animals while restricted will give farmers “some kind of economic stability over the course of a TB breakdown”.
Farrell urged farmers to take the time to get up to speed on the new testing requirements and compensation levels.