€8m sheep fencing/mobile handling scheme set to open for applications

A NEW €8 million sheep fencing and mobile handling scheme will be open for applications from November 1, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith announced yesterday.

The scheme is part of the Rural Development Programme and will help sheep farmers in reducing labour input.

Mr Smith said it will complement the €7m Uplands Sheep Scheme, launched last year, and the €54 million Grassland Sheep Scheme, launched earlier this year, which will provide a much-needed boost to sheep farmers’ income.

He said he was also pleased to note that Teagasc had estimated the margins of sheep farmers would increase by 28% this year as a result of a combination of lower costs and higher prices. The sector had come through a difficult period.

However, he expected the increase in margins together with the income boost in the period 2010-2012 from the grassland sheep scheme would provide considerable confidence for the future of sheep farming in Ireland.

He said the sector is a hugely valuable export-orientated part of the Irish agri-food industry, supplying a high-value product to consumer markets throughout Europe.

The sheep industry is worth around €250 million to the Irish economy and over two-thirds of the product is exported.

Mr Smith said the recently published Food Harvest report identified potential for growth in output value of 20% in the sheep sector by 2020 and expressed his confidence that this ambitious target was entirely achievable.

He said the report presents both challenges and opportunities to the agri-food industry and reiterated his personal commitment and that of the Government to its successful delivery.

Mr Smith said the sheep fencing and handling scheme was another in a series of initiatives being taken to support this important sector, which includes an intensification of the efforts by Bord Bia to promote lamb on the home and export markets.

IFA Sheep Committee chairman James Murphy, who welcomed the move, said the package is essential for the recovery of the sheep sector.

“The conditions for the scheme must avoid too much restrictions and ensure that farmers can draw down a reasonable level of grant aid,” he said.