Outdated Ceilings in TB Live Valuation Scheme Must Be Removed – IFA
IFA Animal Health Chair TJ Maher has called on the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to immediately remove the unfair, arbitrary and out of date ceilings he is applying in the On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme for animals taken from farms as part of the TB eradication programme.
TJ Maher said the On Farm Market Valuation Scheme was agreed with the Department of Agriculture and Government over 25 years ago to provide farmers losing animals as part of a TB outbreak with the ‘value their animals would be reasonably expected to attain if offered for sale on the open market’, such has been the welcome increase in the value of cattle of all types since earlier this year the scheme, because of the ceilings applied is no longer fulfilling this commitment and farmers are losing out heavily.
TJ Maher said on each occasion IFA raised this issue with the Minister and his officials during the year the stock response was funding had to secured for the TB programme and in particular the New TB plans before this issue could be addressed.
The IFA Animal Health Chair said additional funding of €85m has been provided in the recent budget which now opens the door for the Minister to remove ceilings from the scheme entirely to ensure the scheme serves its purpose and delivers on the agreement with Government of over 25 years by ensuring animals removed from our farms by the Department of Agriculture are receiving their true value.
“The TB programme is already costing farmers €150m annually based on the IFA/IFAC analysis of costs, for farmers losing animals to TB, which is through no fault of their own, the ceilings of €3,000 and €5,000 are adding significantly to these costs and compounding already sizeable costs and losses the TB controls are imposing on farmers,” TJ Maher added.
“The Minister has recently launched his TB plans, within these there are some very difficult measures for farmers to take on, implementing this plan will require the goodwill of farmers and this certainly will not be forthcoming until the Minister addresses the issues with the ceilings in the live valuation scheme,” he concluded.
