More bluetongue, Michael Gaine trial, fuel scheme extended

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-30

[00:00:07]Hello and welcome to the farming week, the podcast from Agriand keeping you up to date with all the latest in Irish agriculture. I'm Charles O'Donnell and I'm joined this week by Agriand editor Stella. Well, we hope you've been enjoying the spashing weather this week and that you've been remembering the allimportant sunscreen. It has been a great spell, but farmers will be all too aware that it's weather like this that allows blue tongue virus to spread more easily. And we were unfortunately reminded of that this week, Stella.

[00:00:32]>> Yes, Charles. So, let's go back a little bit and give our listeners some background regarding blue tongue itself.

[00:00:39]Now, the first cases of the virus were reported in March of this year in a suckler herd in County Wexford. Now at that time the case was detected through the department's cold cow routine surveillance in a slaughter house. Blue tongue had already become prevalent in many countries in Europe in the preceding months. So we were basically on high alert for it here in Ireland.

[00:01:04]Further cases were then reported in Wikllo and La Manahan Kildair Cork and Leash. There had been a few cases h around the country connected to various different herds, but they were said to not be live cases as such. There had been a concern about the spread of blue tongue from May of this year onwards as temperatures could consistently stay above the 12° C threshold which is the temperature required for midgetes to spread the virus. Now in the fa past few days there Charles we have received confirmation of a new blue tongue case in a herd in county tipperary which was detected through abbittoire surveillance with all the cases so far reported in Ireland as I mentioned the department has always maintained that these are historic cases from last autumn and they're not actually active infections now any livestock owner will be concerned as the summer months approach about the potential for live infections.

[00:02:13]Blue tongue virus can infect cattle, goats, sheep, and wild ruminants. So things like deer as well as camelids.

[00:02:22]They're your animals such as alpacas.

[00:02:25]The disease does not affect humans, nor does it impact on food quality in things like meat or milk. So there isn't a fear there as such for the human food supply chain. However, it can impact animal health and as a result then the finances of livestock owners. Cows infected with blue tongue can show symptoms of fever, lameness, respiratory disorders, drooling, facial swelling, and cyanosis of the tongue. So, what that basically means is that's the blue tongue color that the animals get that gives the virus its name, blue tongue. And in some cases, strains can cause stunted growth, death, and abortions in infected animals. Sheep are more likely to show symptoms and signs of blue tongue than cattle. So, unfortunately, this means that the illness is harder to detect in cattle, which can make it more likely than to spread. The Department of Agriculture has been advising farmers to consider vaccination to help mitigate against clinical disease losses associated with blue tongue. And actually, just one thing to note, farmers and vets are being encouraged to submit abortion samples to their local regional veterary lab, that's the Orvl, because they want to keep monitoring of it and just keep up to date. So any abortions they want to give samples to their Orville uh Charles.

[00:03:58]>> Moving on. And if you've been reading Aguiland in recent months, you'll know that we've been closely following court proceedings in relation to the man accused of murdering Kerry farmer Michael Ga. The accused Michael Kelly was back in court this week where we saw an important development. Style.

[00:04:14]>> Yeah, we all remember Charles, the very gripping disappearance of farmer Michael Ga in County Kerry in March of last year. He was last seen buying phone credit in a shop in Kin May and there was no sight of him after until his remains were discovered on his own land and in a slurry tank on farm weeks later actually. It was a very sad discovery for his family and his friends but also for the wider agricultural community and the manner in which his remains were discovered. There had been so much speculation at the time as to what caused Michael Gain's death until Gordi established that he had died unlawfully and upgraded their investigation to homicide. A US national has now been sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court charged with the farmer's murder. Michael Kelly of no fixed abode was brought in person this week to Trilli District Court. The 54 year old is charged with the murder of Michael Ga on a date unknown between March 20th and March 21st 2025 at Carig Ken Mayare County Kerry. Now Kelly who appeared in court with short hair and a beard. He wore a green polo shirt, beige pants and boots for the short hearing this week.

[00:05:43]The judge told Kelly, "If his defense to this charge relied on an alibi, then details of this must be provided within 14 days." Judge Waters granted legal aid to his solicitor Pat Man, and two other legal counsel. Janice Ga, the wife of the late farmer, Michael Ga, was in court for the court sitting. A very sad situation, but no doubt family and friends of the farmer will welcome the progress in the case. Charles, moving it to trial to finally establish what happened and seek justice and hopefully some closure so they can grieve Michael's sad passing.

[00:06:24]>> We'll move on now. And this week, a member of the Shannid really struck a chord with comments he made on generational renewal and farm succession, especially as it relates to women in farming. So Stella, what did Victor Ban have to say on the issue?

[00:06:37]>> Yeah, this is a story that has certainly been exercising our audience over the past few days. Charles Victor Buhan is he's an independent senator in Shannadarin and he's often been vocal on many issues affecting agriculture and rural Ireland. This past week in the Shanned, he raised the issue of women in farming and discussed the sometimes old-fashioned held view that maybe only a son should inherit a farm. His direct word stating that the land deserves the child who has the greater interest in farming it certainly drummed up much discussion in farming circles and online. He was discussing the wider issue of succession for a farm enterprise and he told the Shannid that supporting women who want to pursue careers in farming is critical to the sustainability of farming and rural communities. He was bringing this up by the way Charles in the context of 2026 being the UN international year of the woman farmer. He was full of praise for women in farming, telling his Shannid colleagues that women farmers are renowned for introducing diversity to farming. He went on to explain that farm succession is perhaps one of the biggest issues when it comes to women entering agriculture or certainly one of the biggest issues when it comes to access to the farm. So essentially then this week he called for the immediate implementation of the national women in agriculture action plan in full to recognize the role of women in farming.

[00:08:17]So if you're listening to this and you have an opinion on what Senator Boyan said, do get in touch on any of Agrian social media or indeed you can email [email protected] with your thoughts.

[00:08:31]So, you'll all be aware that earlier this month, the government launched the fuel income support scheme for farmers, fissurers, and contractors in light of the huge increases in fuel prices, especially in green diesel, and in light of pretty significant protests, blockades, and general disruption in response to those price increases.

[00:08:48]Applications to that scheme have been tipping along since it opened earlier in May. And this week, Stella, there was an important update. Yeah, we all remember the country coming to a halt in places earlier this year with fuel shortages at fuel pumps because protesters were controlling access to depots.

[00:09:07]Essentially, it all stemmed from the United States taking military action in Iran with claims of trying to stop their nuclear armament. But that had a knock-on effect with the Iranians blocking the straight of Hormuz in retaliation and therefore no oil could make it out of the Gulf region for some time which drove up fuel prices across the world. Now, how does the Irish government fit into this picture, you might ask? Well, farm contractors, farmers and haulers were at their wits end. They were low on green diesel and hadn't factored in the huge extra expense they would have to pay for fuel when prices rose. Some of them felt they were being driven to the wire and wouldn't be able to keep their businesses going. Donald Trump wasn't going to help out the Irish farmers and the Iranians had their own agenda going on. So protesters took to our government to urge them to give a helping hand to stay afloat. Initially it seemed the government was slow to react, adopting a bit of a wait and see strategy. But they were shaken out of that complacency when things began to clog up on the M50 and fuel couldn't get out to diesel pumps around the country from depots in Gway or Cork and suddenly the whole country was affected. So reacted they did. For the general public, the excise on fuel at the pumps was reduced by 20 cent per liter until the end of May. The government then introduced the fuel income support subsidy scheme to help those in industry who rely heavily on fuel. The payments will cover the months of March up to the end of July 2026, which coincides with peak fuel usage on farms. the whole scheme valued at around a hundred million euro. So who is eligible to apply you may ask? So a farmer for the purpose of the income support is defined as an individual who has submitted a BIS application in 2025 and was deemed an active farmer in 2025 or a farmer who has continued to actively farm in 2026 and will submit a valid BIS application or in the case then of intensive enterprises like pig or poultry they must be registered with the department in 2025. 5 as a producer and continue to do so in 2026.

[00:11:38]Now bear in mind new entrance will also be considered as long as they meet certain criteria and so too will agree or forestry contractors. So then what happened this week as you said Charles this week the agriculture minister Martin Hayden announced that he would extend the deadline to apply for the support until Tuesday June 2nd as it had been due to close this week. So basically he said that he did that because with the spell of really fine warm weather we had at the start of this week, he knew many farmers and agri contractors would be flat to the mat uh making hay while the sun shines as the saying goes and might not get the chance to sit down at a computer and have the time to fill in the application form basically. So, if you have plans to apply for that fuel subsidy support, make sure you get your application in before the extended deadline now of next Tuesday and you could do it via the my food um portal or you can get more details on how to apply and who is relevant or what the criteria is to apply on the Agriand app or website. And just while we're talking about the Department of Agriculture, Stella, and specifically department spending, we found out this week that the department might have slightly less money to play with next year. Why is that?

[00:12:56]>> As the saying goes, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, Charles. So with one hand, the department is offering money to farmers. And with the other hand, they're being told to save money within the department. Uh 26 million euro there or thereabouts. The public expenditure minister, Jack Chambers, is behind this. He's making all departments make savings so that the government can balance the books because of an overspend then to the Department of Education. So our reporter Ashling O'Brien was the first to have this story as she has been following it closely over recent weeks. Minister Chambers confirmed that the proposed levy to be applied for the Department of Agriculture was 1.3% and with a gross allocated budget of about 2.3 billion for 2026, this could amount to savings of around 26 million it may have to make. That levy will apply in 2027.

[00:13:54]So, we'll have to wait and see what areas DAP will decide to tighten its belt on. Well, finally this week I mentioned at the top of the podcast the good weather and there will be many people in the Phoenix park in Dublin who hope that the dry conditions continue for the next few days because it is that time of the year again for board via Bloom. Stella, can you tell us what people visiting Bloom this year can expect?

[00:14:15]>> Yeah, it certainly is that time of the year again, Charles. And I know the weather is changing um just today and tomorrow, but imagine if they had had that 30° temperature heat uh of early this week for for bloom this coming weekend. But then again, maybe a slight drop to more manageable temperatures will be welcome for the thousands of visitors and families and children who will descend on Phoenix Park over the coming days. Several of this year's gardens highlight themes closely linked to the agri food sector. including organic farming, weather resilience, and even biodiversity. The department of agriculture has an exhibition garden there. Borbia has an organics garden.

[00:14:59]Um, as does Met Aaron, not to mention the wonderfully designed show gardens by designers, landscapers, environmentalists, uh, nature lovers, you name it. Agriand was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the Bloom Festival before it opened its doors to the public and we spoke to George Ry who is the client and stakeholder manager for organics at Borbia. Let's hear what he had to say.

[00:15:27]>> For the past couple of years, we're seeing year onyear growth in consumer demands uh for organic produce here domestically in Ireland. And I think over the next few days, you know, we've 100,000 anticipated uh by way of footfall visitors to the stand or not to the stand but to the show. Um we we've been hoping to engage and and really, you know, help help those that want to understand more uh to to gain more knowledge and and those that maybe aren't aware of the benefits of organic from a sustainability perspective, from a health perspective, whether that be personal health, soil health, and overall, you know, the viability of it from a farming perspective. So George Rin from Borbia there speaking about just one garden display at Bloom this year. But if you go along to the event, there is so much more and no doubt you won't be disappointed.

[00:16:13]>> Well, that brings us to the end of today's show. Make sure you check out the Agrient website and app for all the details on the stories we've covered today and all your agree news. And please don't forget to rate, review, and follow the Farming Week on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love if you could spare some time to give us five stars and share the farming week with anyone you think might be interested. From Stella and myself, have an enjoyable and safe bank holiday weekend.