Farmers are to be guaranteed a minimum payment under a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agreed in Luxembourg.

A load of fodder has arrived into the country today from France this morning, to alleviate the burden on Irish farmers.

Decisions on compulsory labeling of all meat products will be the main topic of discussion at the Farm Council meeting in Brussels this morning.

The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) budget, which is worth a potential €11bn, will be decided by heads of government in Brussels today.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said today that he is shocked and deeply saddened by the death of Shane McEntee.

Up 15,000 farmers are currently taking part in a major protest in Dublin city centre.

Thousands of farmers are taking part in a major protest in Dublin against Common Agriculture Policy reforms and proposed budget cuts.

Thousands of farmers will march on the Dáil today against proposals in Europe that could see Ireland's CAP allocation cut by up to 30%.

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) has reiterated advice that farmers should not enter slurry tanks, following the deaths of Ulster rugby player Nevin Spence, aged 22, his brother Graham, aged 30, and 58-year-old father Noel, after being overcome by poisonous fumes from an underground slurry tank at the family farm in Co Down last Saturday.

The Irish Farmers Association is calling on the Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to impress on Europe how badly the wet weather is affecting their industry.

IT took €54 million of savings carried over from 2011 to take the bare look off the Department of Agriculture’s budget for 2012.

ENVIRONMENT Minister Phil Hogan’s announcement that a climate change bill is not a priority, signalled a major change from the policy of his predecessor John Gormley.

DAIRY farmers will have to prioritise their resources for on-farm investment to fund the estimated €1bn cost of expanding the dairy sector, according to IFA national dairy committee chairman Kevin Kiersey.

FEW of the Government’s projects are likely to attract as wide a welcome from the public as its plan to bring in legislation which will ban unfair trading practices in the retail sector.

FAIR margins from retail food prices and measures to curb the power of the big supermarket multiples were discussed by Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton and IFA President John Bryan in Dublin last night.

Thousands of farmers will today protest in Dublin against what they say is the Government's failure to act on supermarket giants who fleece farmers in order to bolster their profits.

WITH some Irish dairy farmers having already exceeded their milk quota limit after only one month of the production year, IFA President John Bryan has warned them to live within their allowed milk supply.

EXPENDITURE ceilings as part of the EU-IMF bailout deal hit farmers last week — in the shape of a reduced agri-environment options scheme (AEOS) for 2011.

PROTECTING the Irish agri-food sector against the threat of a Mercosur deal is top of the agenda for Agriculture, Marine and Food Minister Simon Coveney as he attends his first EU Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brussels today.

AFFORESTATION targets have been more than doubled in the new Programme for Government.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has urged voters not to give Fine Gael a “monopoly of power” on Friday as support for Labour flags.

A VETERINARY agreement last week cleared the way to allow export of Irish beef from animals aged 30 months or under, to Turkey, subject to certain conditions.

CROWDS have been flocking to the IFA’s Live Animal Crib, located at the forecourt of the Mansion House in Dublin.

FARMERS who followed government advice and planted rape seed, miscanthus, willow and other biomass and biofuel crops are furious about a shift in state bioenergy policy, according to the Irish Farmers Association.

The prestigious Young Farmer of the Year awarded has today been awarded to Paul Kehoe from Gorey in Co Wexford.

DECEMBER dried feed wheat contracts have been offered to growers, ranging from €160 to €166 per tonne, according to IFA.

NEARLY 800 jobs were announced yesterday, with supermarket giant Tesco leading the way in creating the bulk of them as part of a €113 million expansion drive in the Irish market.

The Irish Farmers Association has said Irish consumers are being exposed to unacceptable and unnecessary risk from Brazlian beef.

A PLEDGE to intensify its efforts to promote safety on farms has been given by the Irish Farmers’ Association to Labour Affairs Minister Dara Calleary.

IFA PRESIDENT John Bryan said that he would be contacting the Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith immediately to highlight some serious shortcomings that need to be addressed in the new Agri-Environmental Scheme to replace REPS, which the Department of Agriculture is proposing.

The Irish Farmers Association is warning fresh food production in Ireland is under threat due to the below-cost prices paid by retailers.

The Government is being urged to implement a single agency solution to flood management and waterways maintenance.