The European Parliament has voted on a number of rules and regulations affecting the EU agriculture sector, including on food packaging, plant protection against pests, and plant and forest reproductive material. In an attempt to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU, MEPs adopted measures which set out targets for member states to reduce, in particular, the amount plastic packaging waste. Certain single-use plastic packaging types will be banned from January 1, 2030, including packaging for unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables, and packaging for foods and bev ..read more

The plight of farmers in certain areas along the Shannon Callows who have not been included in the Shannon Callows Flood Scheme has been highlighted by an Independent TD for Tipperary. Deputy Michael Lowry said there are farmers along the Shannon Callows in Redwood, Ballyea and Ballymacegan, areas of Co. Tipperary whose land was “greatly impacted by flooding”. However he said these farmers have not been included in the flood scheme. The €800,000 scheme was launched by Government last year to support farmers who had lost fodder due to flooding in the Shannon Callows. T ..read more

Pre-tax profits at the semi-state forestry company, Coillte, slumped by more than €60 million to €61.5 million for 2023 according to latest financial results published today (Thursday, April 25). The company, which manages 440,000ha or 7% of Ireland’s land, had reported pre-tax profits of €122.3 million in 2022. Its latest set of financial results also highlight that Coillte’s annual turnover fell to €413.8 million in 2023 compared to a reported turnover of €478.7 million a year earlier. The results also show that it paid a dividend to the State in 2023 totaling €17.7 million – in 2022 its di ..read more

BKT has just unveiled its latest tyre aimed at the agricultural equipment market, which it has dubbed the ‘Powertrailer SR 331’. When it comes to tyre choice for tankers, the emphasis has usually been on field performance and the avoidance of soil compaction through the use of a tyre’s floatation properties. However, with this latest product, BKT has switched to improving road performance, as many tankers may spend as much time, if not more, in transport mode rather than spreading on the field. Premium tyre from BKT The all steel radial tyre is being promoted as one of the company’s flagship ..read more

Fire services were called out to a fire that occurred at Rossbracken, Co. Donegal yesterday (Wednesday, April 24). Letterkenny Fire Brigade stated that it was called out to the yard not far from Letterkenny at 8:20p.m, with the first engine leaving Letterkenny Fire station six minutes after the call was made. The first engine arrived at the scene at 8:35p.m, to what they reported was “two storage facilities” which were engulfed in flames. It’s understood the fire took place within the vicinity of a field which had bales of fodder. Stranorlar and Buncrana fire services also responded to the in ..read more

To protect the US livestock industry from the threat posed by highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a federal order to make it mandatory to test dairy cows before interstate transfer. Last month, USDA confirmed that bird flu had been detected in sick cattle on two dairy farms. Unpasteurised, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as an oropharyngeal swab from another dairy in Texas, tested positive for the strain of bird flu. Then this week, the ..read more

The European Commission has today (Thursday, April 25) published the latest monthly trade report showing developments in imports and exports of EU agri-food products in January 2024. According to its main findings, the EU’s agri-food trade exhibited positive growth. The trade surplus reached €5 billion, which is 27% higher compared to January 2023. Agri-food exports reached €18.4 billion, representing a 2% increase compared to January 2023. EU agri-food exports and imports On the export side, the United Kingdom (UK) remained the first destination of EU exports, representing 23% of exports wit ..read more

The winners of the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were announced this week at a ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary on Wednesday, April 24. There was named winners across 17 distinct categories, ending in naming one winner as this year’s ‘Supreme Champion’. This followed a judging process that was undertaken by a panel of Irish and international cheese experts at Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre last month. The 13 judges tasted 175 different cheeses produced by 43 businesses located across Ireland. Each cheese was indivi ..read more

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been urged to pay farmers “on time, every time” by the Independent TD for Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae. He said that farmers are hearing over and over “that payments were delayed because of a glitch in the system”. “The payment could be as simple as a Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) grant or an Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) or Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) payment. “It could be any one of a variety of schemes. The farmers are being told there is a glitch in the system and their money is ..read more

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has spent a total of €37.8 million on afforestation during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 which is down 4% on the same period last year. The sum was spent on the establishment of new forests (first grant), the second portion of the grant for forest establishment (due on the 4th planting anniversary), and for premiums paid annually, the DAFM said. At €35.7 million, the bulk of the sum was paid in the form of premiums to 7,686 forest owners of which 6,341 are farmers who received a total of €29.1 million, according to DAFM figures. First ..read more