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 The prize winning pupils in the Agri-Aware’s nationwide Incredible Edibles competition gathered in Dublin Zoo yesterday to receive prizes worth over €5,000 to help them develop school gardens.
Monastery Primary School (Scoil na mBriathre 3rd class) in Tipperary town was the nationwide winner out of thousands of primary schools which took part in the competition to grow their own potatoes, onions, baby carrots, lettuce, spinach and strawberries .
Agri Aware’s Mairead Lavery stated:
“The competition has given tens of thousands of children the thrill of growing their own food and understanding from whence their food is derived. They also understand how important it is for their health and the effort it takes to actually grow their own ‘five-a-day’.”
The IFA will hold a major tillage conference on the theme of “Returning t o Profitability Tillage Production” next Thursday June 17th at 7.00pm in the Anner Hotel, Thurles. The conference is designed to guide tillage farmers and help them make the most of existing and new market opportunities.
The conference will provide the most up to date information, which will enable farmers to make informed decisions and extract the best price from the market.
The Conference will be opened by IFA President John Bryan and addressed by Grain Chairman Noel Delany and Executive Fintan Conway who will set out the market outlook and price prospects for the 2011 harvest.
David Neale of Masstock UK Arable will focus on producing for niche markets and de-risking grain production, while Farmers’ Journal tillage editor Andy Doyle will urge growers to think outside the box to regain profitability.
Practical advice on the rapidly growing area of farm to farm trading and using the iFarm trading platform will be covered in a special session.
IFA Alternative Land Use Chairman J.J. Kavanagh will describe the opportunities opening up in renewable energy for arable crops.
Irish farmers, similar to their EU counterparts, face huge challenges arising out of two very difficult harvests in 2008 and 2009 when prices hit historic lows.
To Register: Please contact IFA on 4500266.
 The question of whether the need to abate greenhouse gas emissions should be seen as a cost or an opportunity for Irish agriculture will be debated at this year’s Nuffield Ireland Conference which takes place at the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Thurles, on 17 June next.
With the theme ‘Carbon – a cost or opportunity for farming‘, it has attracted some of the country’s leading climate change experts.
Speakers will include Paud Evans, the chief principal officer at the Department of Agriculture, Owen Ryan from the climate change section of the Department of the Environment, Teagasc scientists Gary Lanigan, Johnstown Castle, Matthew Deighton and Laurence Shaloo, Moorepark; Thomas Ryan, IFA, and Justin McCarthy, Irish Farmers Journal.
The conference will be briefed on current and future Government policy on climate change, while the use of grass in various farming systems as a means of combating greenhouse gas emissions also will be discussed.
Attendace at this conference costs €30 (€35 after 11 June) and further details can be obtained from the IFA (Irish Farmers Association) Telephone: 00 353 (1) 4500266 Fax: 00 353 (1) 4551043.
 New figures show that the number of farmers availing of the Farm Assist Social Welfare payment in North Tipperary has soared in the last year. There have been 190 claims awarded up to May of this year, in comparison to 152 for the whole of last year.
This substantial leap in payments highlight the ongoing financial hardship experienced by farmers throughout the County.
Up until May 5th of this year, there were 190 farm assist claims awarded in the Thurles Social Welfare Local Office, with a further 12 claims still awaiting decision. These figures also cover the Nenagh and Roscrea Branches.
The farm assist scheme was introduced into the Social Welfare Act, in 1999. It fairly addresses the situation of low-income farmers and helps provide them with a safety net. It benefits farm families with children and also provides increased payments to farming couples without children and to single farmers on low income.
While this means-tested payment is broadly similar to the Job Seekers Allowance Scheme, it has a more generous means test, which takes account of the specific nature of farming and unlike Job Seekers Allowance; farmers claiming this payment do not need to be available for work outside of the farm in order to qualify.
North Tipperary Fine Gael TD, Deputy Noel Coonan who recently raised this worrying issue through a parliamentary question he put to the Minister for Agriculture and Food and speaking to www.thurles.info , stated:
Continue reading Increase In North Tipperary Farmers Seeking State Support
 A study, which was carried out by the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), suggests that farmers in the Republic of Ireland are paying up to 58% more for veterinary medicines each year, than their counterparts in the North.
The survey involved the price comparison for similar veterinary products in veterinary offices and farm shops in Tipperary and other counties, with those available in similar outlets in Coleraine and Fermanagh, in the six counties.
The survey demonstrates that a farmer in the Republic of Ireland, presently milking 70 cows, is paying up to €1,000 per year more for the same commonly used products.
This survey was conducted over a one week period in February last.
ICMSA vice president John Comer said:
“The massive mark-up on vet medicines is part of a professional monopoly, which the Government is not alone failing to address, but actually supports and condones. The high cost of these products and services in Ireland is a direct result of Government regulation, on one hand and Government failure to bring competition to the sector, on the other.”
Veterinary Ireland blamed the wholesale cost of pharmaceutical products supplied into the Irish retail market, varying considerably from that pertaining to other EU member states, including Northern Ireland.
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