14,000 on commonages must work together

Farmers who share 7,000 commonages will have to co-operate — or risk being penalised by loss of EU payments.

However, various representatives have warned it will be impossible to get the estimated 14,000 farmers who use commonages to work together.

ICMSA president John Comer has warned: “If four farmers who have sheep on a hill are dependent on one another, it is a recipe for disaster.