Using MyAgfood.ie to plan numbers and monitor nitrates figures

The new Department of Agriculture online portal, called MyAgfood.ie, has been operational for two months, but reports indicate that many farmers still are not aware of the additional management features that the system has to offer.

In terms of animal identification the portal offers users the ability to project nitrates figures on the farm, while also providing an overview of animal numbers by species or category and a forecasting tool to assist in checking the age of animals in the herd at a future date.

These features are explained in more detail below.

Projecting nitrates figures

Users have long sought a system that gives them greater control in accessing data and making decisions to stay within their organic nitrogen limit. This can be found in the ‘nitrates’ heading section when you log in.

On clicking on this option, the system will present the user with a graph showing the monthly nitrates figures from bovines on the farm and the projected end-of-year figure based on current number of bovines.

This projections take in to consideration animals getting older and an associated increase in organic nitrogen values from animal’s changing age brackets.

Clicking on ‘My Nitrates’ will present more detailed data on the animal numbers and current age categories and also detail any relevant information on imports and exports or organic nutrients.

Nitrates planner

For the first time the system allows the user to edit cattle numbers and see how this influences end-of-year figures, while details of other livestock, such as sheep, pigs, poultry etc can be accounted for.

This facility can be accessed through the ‘Nitrates Planner’.

Details of other livestock entered here are an annual average figure. There is also potential for users to test how imports or exports of organic nutrients affect their end of year figure.

There is the potential to see how changes in the land area available affects organic nitrogen levels per hectare.

This tool may be called on regularly, depending on the outcome of Ireland’s next Nitrates Action Plan.

My animals

The ‘My Animals’ portal allows users the normal functionality of viewing your herd profile, registering an animal, generate a certificate of compliance/notify movements, etc, for bovines.

Scrolling down on the homepage provides a summary of beef, dairy and sheep currently on your holding.

There is a useful facility here for any farmer finishing beef cattle that allows them to select a future date and see how the herd profile will look.

This can be used to identify animals for example that will fall in to the over 30 months age category and potentially lose out on the higher Quality Payment System bonus. It also provides details on your herd’s status with regard to TB testing.

Additional benefits

The MyAgfood.ie portal has also received a major upgrade in terms of its functionality for schemes. Users can personalise their homepage to receive the information relevant to them and their farm - for example, applying for schemes and viewing all the schemes they have applied for in one place.

Users can also get an overview of payments pending, sanctioned and historic data.

The ‘My Schemes and Services’ portal also contains a portal called ‘Animal Disease and Health Management/AHCS’. This portal allows user to generate a ‘Bovine TB Herd History Risk Statement’, which indicates that your herd is clear of TB, the period of time for which that has been the case and the number of TB breakdowns in the last 10 years.

This may be a useful statement for farmers marketing animals as coming from a herd which has been clear from TB.

AIM agent requests

It is possible for an agent to access the animal identification and movement system on behalf of a keeper. A form must be submitted, an AIM-ag1 – keeper form to allow an agency/agent access to AIM, which is signed by the keeper of the relevant herd number.

The Department of Agriculture clearly outlines that any direct or indirect loss or liability to the keeper resulting from the use by an agency/agent of the AIM internet application to submit data to AIM and/or to have access to the data held on AIM rests with the keeper concerned.

There are two options – one allows an agency/agent enquiry access to a herd’s data on AIM, while the second option allows enquiry access to data and the ability to update data to AIM on the herd’s behalf.