Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen has announced a £4 million package for support for livestock farmers, which includes continued funding for NI’s bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme.
 
The funding, provided under the EU Exceptional Adjustment Aid, will enable livestock farmers, including milk producers, to apply for financial assistance in the culling of BVD Persistently Infected calves within four weeks of an initial BVD test, and fund replacement animals.

The British Veterinary Association, BVA Northern Ireland Branch and the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) all welcomed the announcement on Friday.

BVA Northern Ireland Branch president Seamus O’Kane commented, “Ensuring support for farmers, and, by extension, vets, to combat BVD was one of the key recommendations we called for in ‘The veterinary profession’s manifesto for Northern Ireland’, which we launched in the run up to May’s elections, so we are encouraged by the Minister’s announcement.
 
"Persistently Infected animals do not always look unwell, but they do produce vast quantities of virus throughout their lives so are a significant source of infection to other animals. Providing financial compensation to encourage the swift removal of these animals from a herd is major step forward in the control of BVD.”
 
The support package also intends to improve pig meat quality; manage soils and nutrients more effectively; and help farmers receive training in business planning and risk management.