A 10-point action plan for the survival of farming in hill areas was launched yesterday by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).

Ibec group Meat Industry Ireland has dismissed an IFA call to increase sheep carcase weights, stating that this would run counter to market demand.

Farmers need industry guidance on the best time to produce spring lamb, according to ICSA sheep chairman John Brooks.

With hundreds of thousands of dogs not microchipped and registered by last Friday’s national deadline, the farmer organisations appealed to owners of the country’s dog population of about 1m to comply with the new mandatory requirement.

Meat factory prices are improving as lamb and cattle supplies are falling, say IFA livestock commentators.

A spree of dog attacks have been reported to the Irish Farmers Association from sheep flock owners in counties Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Offaly, Longford, and Galway.

The European Commission’s rural development section is supportive of an IFA proposal to offer targeted payments to sheep farmers.

Bad weather can impact farm but can also hit the farmer’s mental health and contribute to depression.