Teagasc Suckler Welfare Training Begins in Tullamore

16 September 2008

In Tullamore today, almost 500 farmers attended the first Teagasc training sessions required by livestock producers participating in the Suckler Cow Animal Welfare Recording and Breeding Scheme. All herd owners, who have applied under the scheme, will be contacted over the next 12 month and invited to attend training. Further Teagasc events for 2,000 farmers will take place in counties Kilkenny, Laois and Cavan this week, as the Teagasc Suckler Welfare training campaign kicks off.

The training is a compulsory part of the scheme through which farmers receive a payment of €80 per cow for achieving higher animal welfare standards. Each farmer attending the training course will receive a DVD and explanatory booklet produced by Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ICBF and Veterinary Ireland.

A full programme of over 200 Teagasc training courses will take place in every county this autumn and next spring to meet the requirements of all livestock producers who have signed up to the scheme. Farmers are advised to only respond to the official invitation from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to an event organised by an approved training body such as Teagasc. The courses are provided free of charge to livestock producers participating in the suckler welfare training scheme.

The official launch of the training will take place by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD at the Teagasc Ballyhaise Agricultural College.