All dairy and suckler producers should activelyconsider becoming Farm Quality Assured,according to South Tyrone beef finisher

Alistair Wilson. “I buy a lot of dairy and sucker cullcows in the sale ring but I will heavily discountanimals that are not quality assured” confirmedAlistair, who farms near Moy in County Tyrone.

‘’The problem is that the finishing period for cowscan be as short as 60 days. And, as aconsequence, those that are not quality assuredwill still have that status when they leave my farm.In my opinion, all dairy and sucker farms shouldbecome quality assured. The difference betweenselling a quality assured and a non-quality assuredcow in the ring is more than significant.’’

“It strikes me that the extra money available forquality assured stock would quickly exceed theinvestment required by breeding herdowners to

secure Farm Quality Assured status in the firstplace.” A spokesman for the Livestock & MeatCommission confirmed that all suckler and dairyherdowners can apply for the farm qualityassurance scheme (FQAS). He added:“Martreports confirm that culled cows with qualityassured status can secure significantly higherprices in the sale ring. “In the vast majority ofcases, the level of investment to become farm

quality assured is not significant”

LMC’s Farm Liaison Officer Terry White runs FQASmart clinics at a range of livestock markets acrossNorthern Ireland. He is present to assist membersof the scheme with non-conformances, generalscheme queries and any issues prior to or followingan inspection. Farmers who wish to join thescheme can also do so through their local FQASmart clinic. For further information call (028) 92633024.

GREATER SCRUTINY OF ANTI-MICROBIALUSAGE WITHIN AGRICULTURE

BEEF PRODUCERS MUST NOT BE LEFT OUTIN THE COLD……..RICHARD HALLERON

BEEF producers must receive their fair shareof the exceptional aid package agreed byBrussels a number of weeks back. Calls for

these monies to be ring fenced for dairy only donot stack up, given that all sectors of localagriculture have been under severe economicpressure for the past year and more.

But it’s a two-step process. In the first instanceFarm Minister Michelle McIlveen must commit toensuring that the livestock sector gets its fair shareof the support monies that are available. And, inthe same breath, she should also signal herintention to secure agreement from the Treasuryfor a national top-up, which is allowed under theexceptional aid scheme. Most other EU memberstates have already signalled their intentions toacquiesce on this matter. So why should Londonbe the odd one out?

It looks like being a long winter ahead for beef

farmers in Northern Ireland. Many have had nooption but to house stock in the wake of the poorweather conditions that have hit a number of areasover recent weeks. What’s more, the earlyindications are that silage quality is not good inmany parts of the country this year. Throw in thefact that concentrate feed costs are now rising andit all adds up to an expensive few months aheadfor livestock producers.

Livestock production is the very backbone ofagriculture in Northern Ireland. So it makes sensethat cattle farmers receive their fair share of theaid that has been agreed by Brussels as a measureto support livestock farming across the board.Besides, without a viable livestock industry milkproducers would not have a commercial outlet fortheir crossbred and dairy bull calves. And, as theold saying goes - united we stand: divided we fall.

MONTHLY NEWS

LMC does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any third party informationprovided in or included with this publication. LMC hereby disclaims any responsibilityfor error, omission or inaccuracy in the information, misinterpretation or any otherloss, disappointment, negligence or damage caused by reliance on third partyinformation.

Not for further publication or distribution without prior permission from LMC

Saturday 01 October 2016 Issue No. 0007

Contact us:

Website: www.lmcni.com

Telephone: 028 9263 3000

Fax: 028 9263 3001

THE UK government is seeking to moreaccurately quantify the actual use ofantimicrobials within the livestock farming

sectors, according to LMC’s Industry DevelopmentManager Colin Smith. “This ties in with thecommitment that now exists at a global level todevelop a One Health Strategy,” he said.

“In essence, this recognises the fact that doctors,veterinarian, dentists and other associatedprofessionals have an interconnected role when itcomes to delivering sustainable animal andhuman health care policies for the future.”

The term antimicrobial includes: antibiotic,antiprotozoal, antiviral and antifungal medicines.Antimicrobial Resistance arises when the micro-

organisms that cause infection survive exposureto a medicine that would normally kill them or stoptheir growth. Colin now represents NorthernIreland on a Cattle Anti-Microbial Usage DataCollection Steering Group.

“The group draws its membership from all relevantstakeholder groups throughout the UK,” he said.“One of its key objectives will be to assess theactual on-farm usage of anti-microbials in the dairyand beef sectors. “Initially, this may well involve adiscussion with private veterinary practitioners, inorder to get a clearer idea of actual antibiotic andother anti-microbial sales to primary producers.

“But farmers must be made aware of the fact thatthe issue of anti-microbial resistance, from both a

human and animal perspective, will not go away.“And production agriculture has a key role to playin this context. The livestock farming sectors willbe expected to demonstrate the responsible useof all anti-microbials into the future.”

Last month, the leaders of the G20 group ofcountries reached an agreement on the next stepsin the global battle with so-called ‘superbugs’. Theyacknowledged the gravity of the threat posed byantimicrobial resistance (AMR) to global healthand economic prosperity, and the urgent need toprogress international discussions to mitigaterising drug resistance, and to stimulate thedevelopment of new antimicrobial drugs.

The group tasked the Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) to worktogether with three key international organisations– the World Health Organization (WHO), the Foodand Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and WorldOrganisation for Animal Health (OIE) – and toreport back in 2017 with concreterecommendations on what further action the G20should take.

These solutions will address the economic issuesat the heart of the problem of antimicrobialresistance, and in particular the market failure thatleads to underinvestment in research anddevelopment into new antibiotics and diagnosticsby private companies.

LMC RELOCATED TO NEWPREMISES

SEPTEMBER 1st saw the Livestock andMeat Commission take up residence inthe Lisburn area, once again, with the

organisation securing long term rentalaccommodation in the offices of the formerMcGrath Group of companies. “We are delightedto be back working from premises that arealmost adjacent to the site of Lissue House, ourformer headquarters’ building,” confirmed LMCchief executive Ian Stevenson. “We have alsobeen joined by staff from the Northern IrelandFood Chain Certification team. Given the closeworking links that exist between the twoorganisations, it is important that we share thesame premises.”

Lissue House was badly damaged in a fire at thebeginning of June. The incident forced both theCommission and the Northern Ireland FoodChain Certification teams to find newaccomodation with CAFRE stepping into thebreach by providing office space at itsGreenmount College site. “We are very gratefulfor the support provided by CAFRE and otherindustry stakeholder groups,” explained IanStevenson.“Without their help, it would havebeen a very difficult few months for us.

“The redevelopment of the Lissue House is anongoing issue for the Commission. But it is onethat may take some time to fully resolve. “In themeantime, I can confirm that all of the existingcontact numbers for the Commission andNorthern Ireland Food Chain Certificationremain the same.“In addition, all mail still beingposted to Lissue House has, and will be, re-directed to our new address. So it’s very mucha case of business as usual.”

“These are fast changing times for the redmeatsectors. However, the Commission will play a fullpart in representing the interests of cattle andsheep farmers in the most proactive waypossible.

The full contact details for the Livestock andMeat Commission are:Address: Livestock & Meat Commission

Lissue Industrial Estate (East)1A Lissue WalkLisburn BT28 2LU

Telephone: 028 9263 3000FQA Helpline: (028) 9263 3024.NIFCC Tel: (028) 9263 3017

CALL FOR ALL SUCKER AND DAIRY PRODUCERS TO BECOMEFARM QUALITY ASSURED

LMC ANSWERPHONESERVICE

THE LMC MARKET INFORMATIONANSWERPHONE SERVICE FOR FACTORYQUOTES & SHEEP MART PRICES HASNOW BEEN RESTORED. THE SERVICE ISUPDATED BY 5PM DAILY AND CAN BEACCESSED USING THE SAME NUMBERAS PREVIOUSLY

TEL: 028 9263 3011