Kieran Coughlan: Tractor ‘NCT’ latest in endless list of regulations for farmers
This time the regulation announced comes in the form of a proposed ‘NCT’ for any tractors capable of travelling more than 40km/h, kicking off from May 2018.
For the vast majority of farmers, the new regulations won’t have any immediate impact — given that such high speed tractors are a rarity on most farms.
However the creeping nature of regulations would lead anyone with even a modicum of cynicism to conclude that this is the thin end of the wedge, meaning that it’s only a matter of time before such testing is rolled out to the more popular tractors in the 30-40km range and then beyond.
The reality is that these new regulations may not cause immediate hurt for the majority of farmers in respect of their own vehicle, but the pain may be felt in higher contractor charges as there high spec tractors would be common place.
The sad reality is that regulations affecting farming seem to be layering up year on year with no let-up — in fact from memory I can summon up just one example of regulations being lifted over the past decade, that being the removal of the mandatory brucellosis testing regime for cattle movements.
Casting my mind back, here are just some of the new regulations that have affected farming over the last number of years:
- Farm plastic recycling regulations 2001
- Food and feed regulations 2015 — sale of raw milk
- Enforcement of jeep and trailer licence regime
- Badging of trailers — mandatory air brakes for vehicles > 40km
- Mandatory BVD testing of calves — Regulations 2012, 2014 and 2017
- Confinement of free-range birds regulations 2016 — (Avian influenza)
- Various new rules on turf cutting restrictions
- Registration of professional users of pesticides
- Pesticide storage and usage regulations
- Habitat regulations (Hen-harrier etc)
- Bord Bia scheme
- Grain Assurance Scheme
- Bord Bia Dairy Assurances Scheme
- Horse and dog microchipping regulations 2015
- Animal health and welfare Act 2013
- Registration of farm partnership regulations 2015
- Firearms / guns storage regulations
- Nitrates regulations
- Regulations of the registration of poultry and equine holdings
- Bovine tail docking regulations
- Register of Land leases regulations 2014
- Sprayer testing regulations
- Car trailer regulations
Stream of regulations
Of course, it doesn’t end there. This is just scratching the surface.
Farmers have had to face countless other new red-tape challenges over recent years, such as the shake-up of the single farm payment entitlement regime, moving instead to the basic payment scheme with top-ups for greening — the “three crop rule”, the new Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme, a new suckler beef genomics scheme, knowledge transfer sessions, and a requirement to attend a health and safety course for TAMS participants.
Similar to these Department of Agriculture Schemes, the Bord Bia and Grain Assurance schemes are voluntary, but non-participation can mean a poor sales price or worse still no market for your product.
Traceable systems
As an outsider, it can be difficult to get a grasp of what these schemes actually involve but could mean a typical farmer would need to document crops grown, fertiliser rates used and dates applied, sprays used application rates and dates, seed sowing rates, and cutting dates — the dates the calf was born, dosed, weaned and sold — ensuring that you use a registered haulier if you are transporting him more than 65km, the date the cat was vaccinated and proof that he was, a record of vermin baiting dates.
Keeping up to speed with all of these new regulations absorbs time and by default money in seeking to attain compliance.
Dwindling margins
The reality of dwindling margins, stretched labour resources, the vagaries of weather, animal health and the markets leave most farmers fully occupied in their occupations with little time, or interest in focusing on the seemingly endless stream of new regulations.
At the end of the day many farmers are left disgruntled at best when hearing of yet more regulatory changes affecting their occupation. And while each regulation in of itself might make sense, farmers are getting smothered.
The fear of falling foul any one of a raft of rules leaves farmers paralyzed, stressed and over burdened by red tape.
In all honesty its nearly getting to the stage the farmers will need to walk around with dash-cams fitted to their heads in order that they can recall to any one of a number of agencies exactly what they did that day.
