A farmer lost an appeal against the Department of Agriculture in 2019 over a penalty applied to him in the Organic Farming Scheme.

During an inspection, two non-compliances were found; one for cattle housed with no additional bedding and one for sheep fed non-organic nuts. A penalty was applied.

The farmer submitted an appeal to the Agriculture Appeals Office on the grounds that their farm is located in a very isolated area, with the nearest source of straw being 30 miles away. They said they had continuously used straw, but had just run out at the time of the inspection and were awaiting a new delivery.

In relation to the use of non-organic sheep nuts, the farmer stated that the local store, which is located 19 miles from their farm, had no organic sheep feed in stock when the farmer called, so they bought a small quantity of beef nuts to tide them over.

The farmer also referred to the pressure they were under due to the bad winter and the drought in the summer, coupled with poor prices.

Findings

The appeals officer found that the regulations are clear about what is required to participate in the Organic Farming Scheme. Participation in the scheme is voluntary and it is the responsibility of the farmer to ensure that there is adequate feed and straw for their animals, even in difficult circumstances, in order to adhere to the organic farming requirements.

As a result, the appeal was disallowed.

Appeals in 2019

In 2019, 12 farmers made appeals in relation to the BDGP to the Agricultural Appeals Office. There was a decrease in appeals in 2019 compared to the previous year, when 39 appeals were submitted.

Some 570 agriculture appeals were received by the Agriculture Appeals Office in 2019, with the highest number of appeals in relation to the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS).

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