Suckler scheme opt-in opens next week

Farmers in NI will be able to opt in to the new Suckler Cow Scheme from Tuesday 1 April, DAERA has confirmed.

The online opt-in process will be available on the DAERA website and it must be completed before 31 March 2026 to be eligible for the first year of the scheme.

Each farm business only has to opt in to the Suckler Cow Scheme once, and penalties will not apply for those who opt in but subsequently have no eligible calvings.

A payment of £100 per eligible calving event is available.

In the first year of the scheme, the maximum age of first calving for heifers is 34 months and the maximum calving interval for cows is 415 days.

UFU farm health and safety at Downpatrick

Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) Donard and Mid-Down groups have organised a farm health and safety event at Downpatrick Livestock Mart on Tuesday 1 April, running from 11am to 2pm.

As well as an opportunity to meet farm safety advisers and watch practical demonstrations, the Farm Families Health Checks van will also be present at the event.

Lunch on the day is free of charge and provided by Castlescreen Farm. Donations will be made in aid of Rural Support.

Sheep scheme on ‘back burner’ – Muir

Work within DAERA on developing a new support scheme for the NI sheep sector has been put on hold, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has said.

“I was looking to introduce a sheep support scheme, but, as a result of resource constraints in my department, we had to put it on the back burner,” he said.

Speaking at Stormont on Tuesday, Minister Muir said the current priority was to launch the new agri environment scheme, known as Farming With Nature.

“Once we get that done, we will roll out a sheep support scheme,” he said.

Recall of drug for mastitis treatment

A recall notice has been issued by the UK’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) for a batch of Revozyn RTU 400mg/ml Suspension for Injection. The VMD has said the issue with the drug, which is used for the treatment of mastitis in cows, relates to “stability failure of the product”.

There are 497 units in the batch, which are labelled with the batch number 24F042, manufactured date of June 2024 and expiry date of May 2026.

A5 communication must improve – UFU

Contractors on the new A5 road are failing to keep landowners adequately informed about the works affecting their land, the Ulster Farmers’ Union has said. The UFU said the issue was “a clear theme”, which emerged during a series of recent advice clinics for local landowners.

“It is unacceptable that landowners are being left in the dark about work taking place on their land. Communication between contractors and landowners must improve,” said UFU deputy president John McLenaghan.

Compulsory cameras in NI abattoirs

A consultation has been launched by DAERA on a proposal to make it compulsory for abattoirs in NI to have closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in place.

“I am aware that slaughterhouses in NI operate to a very high standard, and nearly all have CCTV coverage in place,” said Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir.

The proposals will make it mandatory for CCTV to be in place at unloading, handling, lairage, stunning and kill areas of factories. It will also allow DAERA officials to have unrestricted access to the CCTV recordings and requires all footage to be kept for 90 days.