Construction work for the €2.5bn farm-waste storage finished in 2008. So, only one third of the benefits were recorded in the water test period

WITH a fair north-westerly wind behind them, nine white-tailed eaglets flapped their wings and flew tentatively into skies over Killarney Lakes yesterday.

THE recent recovery in dairy markets could be undermined by the European Commission prematurely releasing stocks from intervention, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) warned yesterday.

BONUS and performance payments of almost €5 million were paid to civil and public servants last year.

BREAD that stays fresh for two weeks and is good for you because it contains a natural preservative could be on Irish shelves by the end of the year.

MAJOR changes in the current system of rearing laying hens are on the way, according to Ireland East MEP Mairead McGuinness.

A NEW island has been created at one of Kerry’s blue flag beaches, after the sea breached sand dunes during the weekend.

THE Government’s handling of the toxic pork issue caused an “unmitigated disaster”, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny told the Dáil.

AGRICULTURE certainly is not the worst senior ministry Brendan Smith could have started with.

WELCOME to 2008: a time to re-evaluate menus and reorganise vegetable shops.

THE proprietor of the Organic Shop in the English Market in Cork accused the Department of Agriculture and Food of having sinister motives for the way in which it prosecuted him.

MUNSTER landowners will bear the brunt of forest planting restrictions introduced last week by the Government for protection of the hen harrier bird.

A DECISION by the Government to transfer key functions for the fishing industry to the newly named Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been welcomed by the seafood sector.

Trainers do not need extra certification for horses travelling to and from Britain and Ireland following the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Disinfectant measures at ports and airports in the North to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease have ended, it emerged today.

Farmers were today urged to make use of funding made available for forestry across Ireland.

A new scheme to support organic farmers was today announced by the Irish Government.

IT was a relief that initial test results for samples taken from another cattle herd in Surrey on Thursday night were negative for foot and mouth disease, Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan said yesterday.

LIVE exports from Ireland are back to normal after a temporary hold imposed by the French authorities, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association.

FARM leaders from north and south yesterday reiterated the importance of strict biosecurity measures as part of the all-island approach to keeping foot and mouth disease out of Ireland and avoiding an economic disaster.

Ireland’s biggest equestrian event kicked off today with precautions to safeguard against the spread into the country of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

The Irish Dairy Industry Association (IDIA), the IBEC group that represents the Irish dairy processing industry, has expressed concern at the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK.

Donal Hickey on efforts to boost the domestic market

A CONFERENCE in Portlaoise on July 11 will reveal how much our forests are worth.

FURTHER progress was made at the European Council of Agricultural Ministers in Luxembourg on achieving a tolerable and more reasonable farm inspection regime, according to Irish Farmers Association president, Padraig Walshe.

A former Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Liam Aylward, has been commissioned to produce a key report on the future of Europe’s €3.5 billion sheep sector.

NEW research has shown that Irish consumers who are buying organically produced food are doing so primarily out of a growing concern for the environment.

THE economics of growing energy crops in Ireland remains a concern, according to the Department of Agriculture and Food’s annual review and outlook.

INCREASED efforts are being made to encourage more of the country’s 135,000 farmers to consider going the organic route to meet consumer demands.

THE total eradication of brucellosis from the cattle herd within the next two years is now a realistic objective, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association has predicted.

THE measures introduced last weekend by the Department of Agriculture and Food following an outbreak of a mild strain of avian flu on a farm in Wales is not an import ban on poultry from Britain.

THE measures introduced last weekend by the Department of Agriculture and Food following an outbreak of a mild strain of avian flu on a farm in Wales is not an import ban on poultry from Britain.

A VARIETY of genetically -modified maize which is not authorised in the European Union has been detected in samples taken from animal feed imported from the US into Dublin Port.

AFTER 18 of the last 20 years in Government, Fianna Fáil points to its record, but also has a 100 point list of planned actions in the agriculture and food areas, if elected.

FARMERS are confused and cynical over the charges and deductions that are applied to the prices they are paid from the sale of their cattle at beef processing plants, according to the findings of a survey published today.

FARMERS have been reminded to submit their single farm payment application before this coming Friday’s closing date deadline.

A €50 million investment aid package for the beef and sheep meat processing sectors was launched yesterday by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan.

THE next government must clearly set out its commitments to farming for the next 10 years, the Irish Farmers Association president Padraig Walshe said yesterday.

GALWAY County Council, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and Food, has issued protection of water advice to farmers, as part of their response to what environmental health officers say is Ireland’s worst outbreak of cryptosporidiosis.

IT COST the Department of Agriculture and Food about €9,250, in travel and subsistence, to inspect 18,600 sheep, in Connemara, and south Mayo on November 9, 2006.

MACRA NA FEIRME president Colm Markey has called on Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan to backdate the new Installation Aid Scheme to cover new entrants who set up in farming in 2006.

NEW planting by farmers in areas soon to be designated for the protection of the hen harrier is to be allowed under an agreed forest management protocol.

A PREDICTED continued decline in sheep meat supplies across the European Union should help to underpin prices in the future, Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan said yesterday.

ISLAND communities will seriously decline unless positive Government action is taken to ensure their economic survival, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) warned yesterday.