Fines of more than €1,000 for failure to update herd changes

PENALTIES of more than €1,000 have been imposed on a number of farmers due to stocking rate discrepancies uncovered in on-farm inspections by Department of Agriculture officials.

Farmers have been warned to keep their herd registers up to date with all animal transactions, and report them for inclusion in the Cattle Movement Monitoring System; otherwise the consequences can be very serious if a farm inspection is carried out.

Noel Woulfe (West Limerick) a member of the IFA National Livestock Committee, said a number of cases have come to the attention of the IFA, where animals had been sold or had died, but were not taken off the herd listing, and this was discovered during farm inspections, resulting in fines.