Farming News

Louis Murchan

BOVINE TB HERD HISTORY RISK STATEMENT AND REPORT The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will provide personalised Herd Test History Statements and Reports to cattle farmers in the coming days, to help them to reduce the risk of Bovine TB in their herds. The Bovine TB Forum Interim Report identified the need to provide more effective information to farmers to help them reduce the risk of TB in their herd and advocated for the development of herd risk categories that are “simple, clear, and convey sufficient information to enable farmers to make the decisions appropriate to their situation”. Against this background the Department has developed individualised reports that provide a simplified TB herd risk category for farmers, with herd-specific advice on how to reduce risk of TB. Farmers are already provided with information in relation to their TB risk, but this new report presents this in a very much more user friendly, detailed and practical form. The objective of these measures is to provide farmers with new tools to reduce their own risk, and to target additional Departmental resources at in a way that will have a real impact on the incidence of a disease that results in the imposition of significant cost on every livestock farmer in the country. According to the Department of Agriculture, following many successful years of reducing bovine TB levels to the benefit of Irish farmers, there has been a concerning incremental increase in the disease since 2016. This has continued in 2020 with further increases in herd incidence and reactor numbers observed. Herd incidence (on a 12-month rolling basis) has breached 4% for the first time since 2012 and reactor numbers have exceeded 20,000 – the highest number since 2009. These trends highlight the need for urgent action to manage the risk more effectively. AUTUMN SLURRY APPLICATION APPROACHES Farmers have been urged not to delay spreading the remainder of their slurry this autumn. The nitrogen (N) in slurry spread in September can have a higher impact on grass growth. As grass growth reduces from September onwards the capacity to take up N reduces steadily, the agricultural authority notes. Any N not used by grass is susceptible to leaching when autumn and winter rains come – particularly in free-draining soils. Farmers are advised to look at your grass covers and identify if your farm has a sufficient supply of grass and to apply remaining slurry as soon as possible using low emissions slurry equipment where available. They should identify paddocks that are likely to respond to additional N based on soil conditions, grass covers and soil fertility. At this point no more than 20kg of N/ha is justified. In situations where there are significant grass covers and moderate to low stocking rate, it’s likely that no chemical fertiliser is required. At this point no more than 20kg of N/ha is justified. In situations where there are significant grass covers and moderate to low stocking rate, it’s likely that no chemical fertiliser is required. This will lead to:

•Good uptake of the N in slurry by the plant and avoiding losses to water from late applications; •Avoiding the risk of not being able to empty tanks if weather conditions worsen;

•Being able to save money by getting effective use of slurry nutrients; and •Having empty tanks to protect your storage capacity for the spring. MAIREAD MCGUINNESS TO BECOME IRELAND’S EU COMMISSIONER The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced that Mairead McGuinness will become Ireland’s new European Commissioner. Following the disgraceful treatment of our previous Commissioner, and weeks on indecision, we finally have a new commissioner. And an excellent choice. But for the circumstances in which she was appointed, it is hard to criticise the decision, and congratulations to Ursula von der Leyen for insisting on a “multiple-choice”. It’s understood Mairead McGuinness will take over the Financial services, Financial stability and Capital Markets Union portfolio. McGuinness, who has served as Vice-President of the European Parliament since 2017, was put forward by the Irish government, while Andrew McDowell – former chief economic advisor to the government from 2011 to 2016 – was also nominated. She was elected as an MEP for the north-west constituency

14 West Kerry Live

of Ireland and was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in the EU parliament. Some of you may even remember her visit to Dingle a number of years ago to address some food discussion during the food festival. We wish her well in her new role, hope that she is treated better than her predecessor and that she has a long and successful career representing the EU, (and indeed Ireland), over the coming years. And I take this opportunity to say good bye and thank you to Big Phil. You batted well for us, here in Ireland.

AG SCIENCE LEAVING CERT STUDENTS SCORE HIGH IN 2020 With the “leaving Certificate” results just out, It is hoped that the calculated grade system works as predicted. Best wishes to all who received results in the past few days, and good luck in awaited college and apprenticeship offers, and to those who are entering the workforce. Remember, you are still young, and have plenty of time to reconsider your options. If you wish to enter college, but things didn’t go quite as you had hoped, you can always Sit the written Leaving Cert, later in the year, Go back and repeat it next year, Reapply to the CAO in 2021, when points may be lower, or • Head off working for a few years then apply to college as a mature student, with a few extra pounds in your back pocket. Of interest to the farming sector is that there was a significant increase in the percentage of top marks received by Leaving Certificate agricultural science students this year compared to in 2019. According to the CAO, of the 60,419, 7,371 students did higher level agricultural science along with 1,129 doing ordinary level. There was much excitement along with nerves for some 60,000 students who received the results of their Leaving Cert last Monday, and among their parents also. The overall number of students due to sit the examinations in 2020 was 60,419. However, due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, calculated grades were issued to students. Students receive grades in the format of H1 to H8 for higher level subjects and O1 to O8 for ordinary level subjects. In higher level, H1 is the highest grade that can be attained, while H8 is the lowest. In ordinary level, O1 is the highest and O8 is the lowest. 9.1% of students doing higher level agricultural science achieved a H1 this year, compared to 5% last year. 15.9% received a H2, up from 12.2% in 2019. There was also a significant decrease in those who received lower grades – 0.8% received a H8 in 2020 compared to 7.3% in 2019. 2.9% received a H7, down from 12.7% the previous year. At ordinary level, it is recorded that no students received an O1 in both 2018 and 2019; whereas in 2020, 0.8% received that grade. There was also a jump in the amount of H2s received, with 5.9% in 2020, up from 0.8% in 2019 and 0.6% in 2018. Earlier in the summer it was revealed that the interest in third-level agriculture-related courses had dropped in 2020 compared to 2019. One of the most significant differences this year is the 5% decrease in applicants opting for a Bachelors degree in agriculture (Level 8 agricultural course as their first preference). There were 24 less applicants in 2020, bringing the figure down from 471 in 2019 to 447 in 2020. - Contact Louis Murchan Tel;- 087-2857938 (B Ag Sc, Dip EIA Mgmt) Agricultural & Environmental Advisor

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