Bóthar yesterday despatched its 1,000th cow to Rwandans widowed by the genocide in their country during the mid 1990s just three months after it sent the largest ever airlift of animals in the world to the small nation in south-central Africa, the agency launched its 2017 airlift programme as 25 in-calf Friesian heifers began a 7,000km journey to their new home.

SHAREHOLDERS of Birr and Nenagh marts have voted strongly in favour of merging their societies.

Marts: Proposals for the merging of the entities of three Midland co-operative livestock marts in a new regional mart society have reached an advanced stage, as the livestock sales sector gears up to meet the challenges of the future.