This week’s episode of Farmland focusses on the outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) in Ireland, which has ignited fears among poultry farmers, and hears an update on this year’s maize harvest.
The programme, which is now available on the Agriland platform, can be viewed by clicking the YouTube link above.
In the episode, Agriland journalist Megan O’Brien is joined by Teagasc’s poultry advisor Rebecca Tierney, who outlines the symptoms of bird flu and the culling measures that must be taken when an outbreak occurs.
She recounts what she has been hearing from farmers on the ground who are worried about losing their flock to the disease, considering the porous border between Ireland and the UK in the north.
She also states what compensations are available from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for those who do suffer losses due to bird flu.
Additionally, as all poultry owners are currently required to maintain biosecurity measures, Tierney outlines what exactly these actions are and explains how effective they can be in preventing transmission.
Later in Farmland
Also in this week’s episode of Farmland, CEO of Maizetech John Foley looks back on the success of this year’s maize harvest, which began earlier this year due to the dry weather.
Looking back on the year, he discusses the challenges that growers faced in relation to the rising cost of inputs and talks about how helpful the government’s Tillage Incentive Scheme was.
Finally, as the tillage sector, among others, looks to become more sustainable, Foley shares his experiences with the biodegradable films that must now be used over maize crops, as a result of the EU Directive on Single Use Plastics.
This week’s episode of Farmland is now live on the Agriland platform. All previous episodes can be streamed via the award-winning digital platform agriland.ie, and links will also be available across Agriland social media platforms.
All episodes of Farmland can be viewed by clicking here. Farmland, the podcast, is also available on every major podcast platform.