Reacting to this week’s Irish Farmers Journal's front page story Bord Bia has confirmed that no new requirements as part of the new quality assurance (QA) schemes will go over and above current legislation as it stands.
Bord Bia made a presentation at an Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) meeting in Cavan on Monday night comparing the Irish QA scheme with similar schemes in the UK and across Europe.
Within this presentation, a number of areas were highlighted where the Bord Bia standard fell behind requirements that exist in other countries.
Farmers did ask questions on the night about what level of detail was going to be in the new scheme but Bord Bia representatives didn’t elaborate on the night what was going to be in the new scheme.
However, they did point to a bigger spotlight being placed on animal welfare across Europe and with consumers in general.
Criteria
A spokesperson for Bord Bia said: “Bord Bia’s position has always been that until the criteria for the new standard is fully agreed by the relevant technical advisory committees (TAC) and ratified by the quality assurance board, we should not and would not comment on the specific criteria.”
Bord Bia went on to clarify what areas have not been proposed:
Proposals on space allowance in the draft standard do not go beyond current requirements in the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS).
Submitting geotagged photographs of cattle has never been proposed for inclusion and, as such, has never been discussed in a TAC meeting.Current proposals on the use of low emissions slurry spreading do not go beyond legislation. Mandatory use of low emissions slurry spreading has never been proposed in the current TAC discussions. While many farms do leave space for nature, there are no mandatory minimum areas for biodiversity beyond legislation proposed under the standard update. Teagasc guidelines
In summary, Bord Bia suggests the Teagasc guidelines for lying space for finishing cattle will be used.
From 1 January all farms stocked over 100kg of organic nitrogen per hectare (41,000 farmers) need to use a low emissions spreading technique. The current mandatory minimum biodiversity area is 4%.
In relation to the sustainable sourcing of soyabean meal, the Irish National Accrediation Board (INAB) made specific reference to the use of soya on Irish farms in a 2022 audit of the QA schemes.
The INAB audit referred to the lack of requirements regarding sustainable sourcing of soya and deforestation.
The Department of Agriculture has already pointed to the requirement of geotagged photos being needed to prove cattle have not originated from deforested land to ensure compliance with new EU deforestation laws coming into effect from 1 January 2025.
Agreement
Bord Bia said that the standard is still being discussed at the TAC, with the aim of reaching agreement by the end of the year or early next year.
This would then allow them to pilot the draft standard in early 2025 on a selection of farms.
Reacting to this week’s Irish Farmers Journal's front page story Bord Bia has confirmed that no new requirements as part of the new quality assurance (QA) schemes will go over and above current legislation as it stands.
Bord Bia made a presentation at an Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) meeting in Cavan on Monday night comparing the Irish QA scheme with similar schemes in the UK and across Europe.
Within this presentation, a number of areas were highlighted where the Bord Bia standard fell behind requirements that exist in other countries.
Farmers did ask questions on the night about what level of detail was going to be in the new scheme but Bord Bia representatives didn’t elaborate on the night what was going to be in the new scheme.
However, they did point to a bigger spotlight being placed on animal welfare across Europe and with consumers in general.
Criteria
A spokesperson for Bord Bia said: “Bord Bia’s position has always been that until the criteria for the new standard is fully agreed by the relevant technical advisory committees (TAC) and ratified by the quality assurance board, we should not and would not comment on the specific criteria.”
Bord Bia went on to clarify what areas have not been proposed:
Proposals on space allowance in the draft standard do not go beyond current requirements in the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS). Submitting geotagged photographs of cattle has never been proposed for inclusion and, as such, has never been discussed in a TAC meeting.Current proposals on the use of low emissions slurry spreading do not go beyond legislation. Mandatory use of low emissions slurry spreading has never been proposed in the current TAC discussions. While many farms do leave space for nature, there are no mandatory minimum areas for biodiversity beyond legislation proposed under the standard update. Teagasc guidelines
In summary, Bord Bia suggests the Teagasc guidelines for lying space for finishing cattle will be used.
From 1 January all farms stocked over 100kg of organic nitrogen per hectare (41,000 farmers) need to use a low emissions spreading technique. The current mandatory minimum biodiversity area is 4%.
In relation to the sustainable sourcing of soyabean meal, the Irish National Accrediation Board (INAB) made specific reference to the use of soya on Irish farms in a 2022 audit of the QA schemes.
The INAB audit referred to the lack of requirements regarding sustainable sourcing of soya and deforestation.
The Department of Agriculture has already pointed to the requirement of geotagged photos being needed to prove cattle have not originated from deforested land to ensure compliance with new EU deforestation laws coming into effect from 1 January 2025.
Agreement
Bord Bia said that the standard is still being discussed at the TAC, with the aim of reaching agreement by the end of the year or early next year.
This would then allow them to pilot the draft standard in early 2025 on a selection of farms.
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