Changes that ensure farmers are no longer required to retain 10% of their eligible hectares in an agricultural activity for the purposes of retaining eligibility for the basic payment scheme have been welcomed by the Irish Farmers Association.

Farmers are “at breaking point” with the delays and additional costs associated with getting forestry grants or licences approved, the IFA has claimed.

IT WAS a tough summer for the farming community, President Mary McAleese acknowledged yesterday when she officially opened the ploughing championships in Athy, Co Kildare.

OLDER people working on farms were urged by Irish Rural Link (IRL) yesterday to be extra vigilant as the days grow shorter.