KEY FARMING ORGANISATIONS remain at odds with the Department of Agriculture on the necessary measures needed to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis on Irish farms (TB), after a ten hour emergency meeting on Thursday. 

The Department presented 30 proposed measures to tackle the current levels of the disease, which the Irish Farming Organisation (IFA) says hit a high last year not seen since the late-90s, with 40,000 productive animals exposed. 

The meeting was led by the Minister of Agriculture Martin Heydon, who has today said he will move promptly to refine the Government’s TB Eradication programme. 

The Department is suggesting that further information on TB herd risk categories should be provided at the point of sale for all cattle – which the IFA is against. 

TJ Maher, the organisation’s Animal Health Chair, today said that this measure, and others put forward by the Department would only put an extra cost on farmers. 

Maher explained that under the proposed changes farmers would face significant challenges to maintaining full compensation levels for productive animals lost to TB. 

He also said that further risk-categorisation will mean stock will be devalued at the mart. 

“It’s an inappropriate measure,” he said. 

A study published by the IFA and conducted by IFAC found that farmers are out to the tune of  €150m -per annum. 

Maher said that a red line for the IFA is that the status quo in terms of farmer compensation for lost stock be maintained, without further restrictions or requirements being brought in. 

Maher further said that while the Department has proposed a greater commitment to further resourcing its wildlife programme, the IFA still has “serious concerns about their ability to carry out all the work that is needed”, adding that it needs to be a “rapid process”. 

Ultimately he said that farmers will “not be happy” without further amendments to what the Department has proposed, but that all parties involved are “operating on the basis of good faith”, with the expectation being that an amended set of proposals will be presented within the next fortnight. 

The IFA is hoping that further discussions will happen before the Department presents its final suite of measures, but said that there has been “no commitment” on further discussion happening. 

Thursday’s meeting was also attended by Animal Health Ireland, Veterinary Ireland, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, Macra, and other organisations.