Q: I have been renting a shed from a neighbour for the last 10 years. The shed was left to him by his father and he never transferred or applied for a herd number. He has the land set on a long-term lease and I rent the shed for the winter and spread the slurry on my own farm. I was reading the article on B&B movements and shed rental and see that I am required to put animals into the herd number of the person who owns the shed. Since I cannot do this in this case, what recommendations should I follow to stay within the letter of the law?
A: It is difficult to answer this question in the absence of more details in relation to the actual circumstances of the case, including whether there are cattle on the rented land, what is the position of the shed in relation to the rented land, etc.
In general, the cattle in the shed must be maintained as a separate epidemiological unit to the cattle on the rented land. This means that there must be separate housing and handling facilities for each of the two epidemiological units and there must be no intermixing of animals between the two herds.
Furthermore, there must be no sharing of facilities or machinery. Otherwise, the cattle in the shed must be put into the herd number of the person whose cattle are kept on the rented land.
Each individual case may or may not require a visit by an inspector from the regional veterinary office to assess the suitability of the arrangement. Further information and advice is available from your regional veterinary office.
Q: I rent out a shed every year as I no longer keep cattle over the winter months due to ill-health. I have no problem taking animals into my herd number, but does this mean that I am responsible if any inspection takes place leaving my single farm payment (BPS) at risk of a penalty. I have a good relationship with the owner of the animals, but I have no input into how they are managed over the winter. Can you advise please?
A: If the farmer has no cattle and there are no other animals in the same farmyard, there is no requirement to have a movement certificate as the owner of the cattle is simply extending his winter housing.
In this case, the owner of the animals is responsible for any identification and registration breaches as per SMR 7. However, if there were other issues, such as Nitrates or GAEC, then the beneficiary or owner of the shed is responsible.
The second scenario is where there are other animals on the holding and the owner wants to take in other animals. In this case, an NBAS 31B form is required for the movement into and out of the herd.
In this case, keeper responsibilities for the animals has transferred to the recipient herd and they are now responsible for complying with the cross-compliance obligations in respect of those animals – for example, missing tags, passport, bovine herd register or AIM discrepancies.
In review – B&B movement rules
If applying for a temporary movement using form NBAS 31B, herds must be free from any restrictions preventing movement with the herd and animals clear to move from a TB perspective.Approvals must be sought prior to movement using the Department’s NBAS 31B certificate of compliance (found at www.agriculture.gov.ie).The person receiving the animals becomes the keeper and must also be furnished with animal passports (blue cards) for the duration of the stay.Owner beware: the Department has no role in B&B agreements outside of monitoring the movement of animals and disease identification or surveillance. Once these are satisfied, the Department cannot influence any movements, including forward movements.See www.farmersjournal.ie for previous articles detailing rules and regulations associated with B&B movements and the typical costs involved.
Q: I have been renting a shed from a neighbour for the last 10 years. The shed was left to him by his father and he never transferred or applied for a herd number. He has the land set on a long-term lease and I rent the shed for the winter and spread the slurry on my own farm. I was reading the article on B&B movements and shed rental and see that I am required to put animals into the herd number of the person who owns the shed. Since I cannot do this in this case, what recommendations should I follow to stay within the letter of the law?
A: It is difficult to answer this question in the absence of more details in relation to the actual circumstances of the case, including whether there are cattle on the rented land, what is the position of the shed in relation to the rented land, etc.
In general, the cattle in the shed must be maintained as a separate epidemiological unit to the cattle on the rented land. This means that there must be separate housing and handling facilities for each of the two epidemiological units and there must be no intermixing of animals between the two herds.
Furthermore, there must be no sharing of facilities or machinery. Otherwise, the cattle in the shed must be put into the herd number of the person whose cattle are kept on the rented land.
Each individual case may or may not require a visit by an inspector from the regional veterinary office to assess the suitability of the arrangement. Further information and advice is available from your regional veterinary office.
Q: I rent out a shed every year as I no longer keep cattle over the winter months due to ill-health. I have no problem taking animals into my herd number, but does this mean that I am responsible if any inspection takes place leaving my single farm payment (BPS) at risk of a penalty. I have a good relationship with the owner of the animals, but I have no input into how they are managed over the winter. Can you advise please?
A: If the farmer has no cattle and there are no other animals in the same farmyard, there is no requirement to have a movement certificate as the owner of the cattle is simply extending his winter housing.
In this case, the owner of the animals is responsible for any identification and registration breaches as per SMR 7. However, if there were other issues, such as Nitrates or GAEC, then the beneficiary or owner of the shed is responsible.
The second scenario is where there are other animals on the holding and the owner wants to take in other animals. In this case, an NBAS 31B form is required for the movement into and out of the herd.
In this case, keeper responsibilities for the animals has transferred to the recipient herd and they are now responsible for complying with the cross-compliance obligations in respect of those animals – for example, missing tags, passport, bovine herd register or AIM discrepancies.
In review – B&B movement rules
If applying for a temporary movement using form NBAS 31B, herds must be free from any restrictions preventing movement with the herd and animals clear to move from a TB perspective.Approvals must be sought prior to movement using the Department’s NBAS 31B certificate of compliance (found at www.agriculture.gov.ie).The person receiving the animals becomes the keeper and must also be furnished with animal passports (blue cards) for the duration of the stay.Owner beware: the Department has no role in B&B agreements outside of monitoring the movement of animals and disease identification or surveillance. Once these are satisfied, the Department cannot influence any movements, including forward movements.See www.farmersjournal.ie for previous articles detailing rules and regulations associated with B&B movements and the typical costs involved. 
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