Farmers push for cross-border livestock trade

Farmers representatives in both Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) are pushing for restrictions on cross-border livestock movements to be lifted.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) met with the Ulster Farmers’ Union on Tuesday to discuss the bluetongue restrictions that have stopped breeding and store animals crossing the Irish border.

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“There is a workaround on allowing movement of these to start again, but it all hinges on Scotland,” IFA animal health chair David Hall told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Scotland is currently bluetongue free, but there is a danger that they could stop live exports from NI if the north-south trade resumed without disease zones being in place. But if Scotland was on board, they could issue a derogation,” he said.

Two further cases of the BTV-3 virus have been found in ROI over recent days. In total, the virus has been detected on six farms in ROI to date.

Badger vaccination is not NI policy

The badger vaccination project which is planned for a cross-border area near Strabane is not a blueprint for an NI-wide policy, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has said.

Speaking at Stormont on Monday, Minister Muir said a public consultation on wildlife intervention measures for all of NI will be launched “in the spring”.

In the Strabane project, which is being funded with money from the Irish Government, badgers are to be trapped and tested for TB, with positive cases culled and negative animals vaccinated for TB then released.

Minister Muir said 86% of landowners in the project area have granted DAERA permission to assess badger setts on their land.

“The regionalisation pilot will serve as a proof-of-concept model and will enable us to trial, evaluate and refine interventions in that defined geographical area,” he said.

However, the Alliance MLA was keen to point out that the Strabane project is “entirely separate” from the upcoming consultation on NI-wide wildlife intervention.

“[It] is not, and should not be considered as, a predicator for any future decision that I may make on wildlife intervention policy,” he said.

AFBI to host three grassland webinars

Researchers from the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) are to hold a three-part webinar series on grassland management.

The series, entitled “Grassland Insights from Soil to Sward”, will offer research-led advice on soil health, fertiliser efficiency and animal performance.

Each one-hour long webinar will begin at 8pm on Wednesdays, starting on 11 March and finishing on 25 March. Registration is available on the AFBI website.

DAERA maintains fund for green watchdog

The funding allocation that DAERA gives to an environmental watchdog has been unchanged for the 2025/2026 financial year. The Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) was established in 2021 to scrutinise what government departments and other public authorities do in relation to the environment.

In its latest annual report, the OEP states that its funding allocation from DAERA for the current financial year was “the same level in cash terms as 2024/2025”.

In 2024/2025, DAERA increased its funding to the OEP by 52%, with the watchdog receiving £1.9m to carry out its functions related to NI.

Dog attacks cost NI farmers £152,000

Attacks on livestock by dogs cost NI farmers £152,000 during the 2025 calendar year, according to new figures from insurance firm NFU Mutual.

Whilst the figure is down 30% on the year previous, John McLenaghan from the Ulster Farmers’ Union said it still highlights the need for responsible dog ownership.

“Too many dog owners still believe their pet would never chase or harm livestock. The reality is very different. Regardless of breed or temperament, any dog can cause harm,” he said.

Complaint to DAERA over data breach

A campaign group known as Save The Moat – Save The Sperrins, has made a formal complaint to DAERA over a data breach involving the release of personal email addresses.

Highlighting the issue at last Thursdays’ meeting of the Stormont Agriculture committee, the chair of the committee, Robbie Butler said it related to an email sent by the department on 9 February 2026 relating to the establishment of a new Just Transition Commission. In sending the email, DAERA had included the personal email addresses of “dozens of recipients”.

In correspondence to the committee from Minister Muir, he explained that initial findings showed that a DAERA staff member had inadvertently failed to use the blind carbon copy (BCC) function when issuing the original email.

“The information disclosed was limited to email addresses apparently and the risk is considered low and has been referred to the information commissioner’s office,” commented Robbie Butler last Thursday.

He also pointed out that the latest incident follows “hot on the heels” of a data breach by AFBI involving the release of personal information.