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Three confirmed changes are to be made to the Knowledge Transfer (KT) programme to make it more workable for year two, it has emerged.
Farmers will be allowed to attend two national events instead of one, giving them the option to complete four meetings and one event or three meetings and two events.
The minimum 60% participation rate for meetings is to be abolished.
Further training of facilitators is to be put in place to improve the content of the programme.
The changes were confirmed to the IFA following a meeting with Department of Agriculture officials.
Clarifaction needed
IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy said that the changes would make the programme more workable.
However he also called for the veterinary involvement to be clarified and the veterinary charging regime to be abolished.
He also called for clarification on what he called the unacceptable double charging of farmers for KT group participation by Teagasc.
He said that IFA will be taking the matter up with Teagasc again.
KT payments of more than €14m will commence at the end of October to 18,400 farmers who fully or partially completed year one of the programme.
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