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The Department of Agriculture has tightened rules around inconclusive tests in the TB programme.
If a herd has a TB breakdown now, animals that were previously inconclusive will be removed. Additionally, in tests where four or more animals test inconclusive, they will be deemed as reactors.
IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell has sharply criticised the Department, saying changes were implemented without discussion or consultation with farmers.
Farrell said the removal of animals that previously tested inconclusive and had several clear tests since would not sit well with farmers.
Costs
The Department had shown that it had no difficulty increasing the cost burden on farmers while refusing to address “enormous shortcomings in the compensation schemes”, he said.
“This latest change to the implementation of the TB programme severely impacts on the income of farmers and was imposed without any consultation.
"This is despite claims that all stakeholders would have the chance to input into decision-making on the programme,” Farrell pointed out.
Farmers had enough of the Department refusing to address critical issues in the programme he claimed, adding the next Minister for Agriculture would have a job maintaining farmer support under the current approach.
Compensation
Critical areas identified by the IFA include the live valuation scheme and the income support scheme, which it says need to be changed to reduce the cost burden on farmers.
“The Department of Agriculture is acutely aware of these issues, yet persistently refuse to carry out a meaningful costing of the changes,” Farrell said.
He said while farmers who had inconclusive animals removed would be eligible for compensation, the current scheme only covered approximately 50% of the actual loss in some cases.
“The TB programme requires significant changes. The most fundamental is the need for the Department of Agriculture to recognise the enormous contribution farmers make to the programme by addressing the losses they are imposing on them through reform of the compensation schemes," he concluded.
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