NEWS & EVENTS

  The ICMSA has again called on the four AI stations who dominate the Irish AI (cattle artificial insemination) market and who have collectively decided to apply IP (Intellectual Property) to the offspring of farmers’ cows from specific bulls to immediately suspend their decision and enter proper discussions with farmer…

Speaking after the TB Forum meeting held today (26 March), the Deputy President of ICMSA, Eamon Carroll, has said that the association “had no intention” of asking farmers to accept very significant portions of the proposed TB measures presented at today’s meeting. Mr. Carroll said the fact that would ‘jump…

The Chairperson of ICMSA Farm Business Committee, Pat O’Brien, has urged the Department of Agriculture to complete its review of TAMS reference costs and proceed “immediately” with the increases that all know must follow. “This delay is ‘knocking-on’ and effectively jamming up the system as interested farmers await the publication…

Speaking after leading a delegation of ICMSA national officers to meet Minister for Agriculture, Food & Marine, Martin Heydon, the President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan said that the meeting had gone into detail on the issues facing Irish farming and the wider agri sector in the critical upcoming period. Describing…

ICMSA Farm Business Committee Chairperson, Pat O’Brien, is urging financial institutions to reduce interest rates for farmers as crippling rates are disincentivising investment and threatening generational renewal.  The Farm Business Chairperson said that Irish farmers are often being charged up to 3% more for finance by Irish pillar banks than…

Commenting on today’s launch by the EU Commission of its ‘Vision on Agriculture and Food’, the President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, welcomed the publication of the strategy and said it appeared to signal a ‘step change’ in EU farm policy. But the ICMSA President said that “obviously” the success or…

The President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, has said that one of the new conditions announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in connection with this year’s BISS amounts to a clear case of ‘double jeopardy’.   Mr. Drennan said that the ‘Social Conditionality’ element introduced effectively means…

As the last areas of the State still left without full power and communications are re-connected, the leader of a major farm organisation has proposed that the basic maintenance of hedgerows and trees overhanging power and communications cabling should be ‘contracted out’ to trained local farmers.  The President of ICMSA, Denis…

As TAMS 3 tranche 6 applications opened last week, the Chairperson of ICMSA Farm Business Committee appealed to the Department to include diesel generators for funding given the ongoing issues arising from the latest storm. The Chairperson, Pat O’Brien, went on to call on the Revenue Commissioners to allow farmers…

ICMSA Dairy Committee Chairperson, Noel Murphy, has called on Animal Health Ireland to seek answers from the Minister of Agriculture, Food & the Marine regarding funding for the “seemingly never-ending” BVD Eradication Programme. Mr. Murphy said that farmers were also entitled to know when compulsory tissue tag testing is coming…