IFA news and activities this week

Glyphosate vote

Ahead of a European Commission vote on the authorisation of glyphosate, IFA president Joe Healy has emphasised the need for political leadership to ensure decisions are based on science rather than populism or politics. The removal of authorisation has the potential to destroy the EU crop production sector and will lead to significant land abandonment, he warned.

Antibiotic use

At the launch of the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance last week, animal health chair Bert Stewart said resistance will only be addressed though a fact-based multifaceted approach to antibiotic usage. The consequences of reducing necessary antibiotic use in animals must be carefully considered as it would have serious implications for animal health and welfare and increase production costs.

Beef markets

Livestock chair Angus Woods has said there is strong market demand for beef both in the UK and across Europe at the moment, and with the Christmas trade kicking in, factories are in need of stock. He said the strong demand must be reflected in higher prices from the factories as across our main continental EU beef markets, prices are up 30c/kg since last year.

Commonage plans

Hill farming chair Pat Dunne has insisted that maximum flexibility be shown by the Department in the implementation of commonage framework plans for farmers on commonages in GLAS. He said the minimum and the maximum ewe equivalent figures must be reviewed as they are out of date and if not changed commonage plans will be very difficult to implement. It is critical that commonage plans are workable, practical and flexible.