Vol. 533 No. 5
10 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of farmers who have responded to date under the herd reconciliation census of cattle on farms at the end of December 2000; the number of applications still outstanding; the actions being taken to encourage and remind farmers of the importance of having accurate and up-dated herd records; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9172/01]
The purpose of the herd reconciliation project is to confirm that cattle which the cattle movement monitoring system – CMMS – recorded as being in the herd on 31 December 2000 were actually in those herds on that date, to collect details of cattle that were not so recorded and to update the database accordingly. It will be recalled that the CMMS database was developed to guarantee the origin, identity and life history of Irish cattle entering the food chain. The CMMS, which contains information on millions of events in the life of the Irish cattle herd, was developed progressively over a number of years beginning with the recording of calf birth registrations from 1996 onwards. However, as full recording of movements and disposal of cattle did not come into operation until the beginning of 2000, the data recorded on animal locations may not be up to date in all cases.
The herd reconciliation project is therefore a very important milestone in the further development of the CMMS. It will ensure the complete accuracy and integrity of the CMMS cattle traceability system. The project will also have further practical benefits in that it will allow the database to be used more widely for EU premia payments and many other schemes affecting farmers, thus reducing the administrative burden for farmers associated with such payments.
The mechanics of the project are that all cattle events recorded on computer in 2000, including births, on-farm deaths, exports, slaughtering, movements and premia applications, were analysed and a last known location-herd number for each cattle tag number was established. The year 2000 was selected as a basis for the exercise because it provided the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available. A statement listing the cattle in each herd was generated for each farmer and farmers were asked to confirm, add to or amend the details of the statement as appropriate. Some 130,000 statements were issued to farmers in the first weeks of January this year. The issuing of the statements was accompanied by an extensive radio and press publicity campaign. Of the approximately 130,000 farmers involved, 121,520 have responded. Therefore, 7,444 farmers have not responded and they have been reminded on a number of occasions to send back their details. In early April, a further letter will be issued to all remaining farmers who have still failed to respond, reminding them of their obligations and the consequences of not doing so. Failure to respond after that date will leave my Department with no option but to render the animals in question ineligible for premia pending clarification of their status under the herd reconciliation project.
The House can be assured more generally that every opportunity is taken to remind farmers of the importance of having accurate and fully updated herd records. The current foot and mouth crisis highlights the critical role that a comprehensive animal tracing system can play both in the control of the spread of animal disease and in providing reassurances to consumers and customers regarding Irish livestock products. There is a responsibility on all parties, particularly farmers, to play their role in this matter.
I appreciate the need for all this information to be available and properly placed on the record. Was the Minister as shocked as I was, however, by the initial information that came out? There was a massive difference between the information that should have been given and what actually appeared on the information sheets for farmers. If the Minister has carried out an analysis on that matter will he let us know what the situation is? We welcome the idea but from dealing with farmers I know that there was a major difference between what should have been contained in the information and what actually appeared.
Yes, some discrepancies were found, in addition to some unusual practices. The data coming into the Department are being assessed, but until we get the full response we cannot go into the matter in detail. Nonetheless, accuracy levels of over 90% have been confirmed from the preliminary results of the data processed. That is very encouraging for the first attempt at this matter. It means that when we have it absolutely right we will have a comprehensive picture of the national cattle herd, which will be helpful not alone in recording animal identification and disease, but also for assuring quality control systems. We will be able to tell our customers both here and abroad that the meat they are consuming is from a particular herd. We will also be able to identify the particular farms on which the cattle were raised. The results have been very encouraging so far, but in one or two counties the registration of twins was a bit higher than in other counties.
Will we be able to use the movement system as a means of resolving the problems that some farmers are experiencing with regard to heifers that were killed under the scrappage scheme but which are now being put down as cows? The CMR would be an easy method of resolving such problems because if they have not been registered as dams under the CMR they should qualify as heifers. Can the system be used to solve these problems?
The CMMS would be of limited assistance in relation to the matter to which the Deputy refers. The difficulty is that between 8% and 10% of calves born to heifers die before they are registered, in other words, during the first seven to eight days. That is a relatively high percentage. There would be a degree of difficulty in applying the provisions of the scheme to which the Deputy refers. The scheme would have limited application.
Given that traceability is so important, it is vital that farmers keep up-to-date records of their livestock. Will the closing date for the census be adhered to at some point? I assume that the 7,000 farmers who have not returned their census forms will not be paid.
I am disappointed that 7,000 out of 130,000 farmers have failed to facilitate the census. It is important that it be carried out in full and we have reminded those concerned on a couple of occasions to return their forms. When the last reminder was issued we received an additional 2,500 forms, but 7,444 remain outstanding. The individuals in question have had sufficient time in which to make their returns and I will be writing to them in the coming week to inform them that if they are not prepared to comply, they will run into difficulties in terms of obtaining payment under the various headage and premia schemes.
Will provision be made for those who made unintentional errors in their returns? Will they be allowed to rectify matters by sending additional or correct data to the Department?
They will be facilitated. The census is being carried out by South Western Services, which is well known to Deputy Sheehan and doing a superb job. Anyone who contacts South Western Services in Bandon will be treated with the utmost courtesy and facilitated by the excellent staff employed there.
