The Ulster Farmers’ Union has welcomed DARD’s continued support for the farmers affected by the extreme weather.
UFU President Harry Sinclair said; “It has been a very difficult couple of weeks for those farmers affected by the severe weather and as the snow has begun to melt many have witnessed terrible scenes. Farmers are beginning to pick up the pieces following the extreme weather and the NI Executive’s decision to cover the cost of the collection and disposal of fallen stock and to create a hardship fund for those affected by the snow will help them to do so.
“The snow has been slow to thaw on the higher ground and DARD’s announcement today that they are extending the fallen stock collection and disposal scheme until Friday 19th April will ensure that farmers in these areas will not be excluded from accessing this aid. The hardship fund will be important to the cash flow of those farmers affected and whilst it may take time to set up, the Union and other industry organisations are involved in discussions with DARD on this specific issue and we are hopeful that the scheme will be finalised and details released soon.”
The UFU had also approached DARD to ensure that force majeure would be allowed when it came to claims under the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance (LFACA) scheme. Harry Sinclair continued; “I am pleased that DARD have confirmed that they will be flexible when it comes to the bad weather and LFACA claims. Farmers who have lost livestock during the severe weather and may be below the required stocking levels will be able to cite force majeure as the reason. Farmers wishing to claim under the force majeure provision must write to the Department as soon as possible to notify them of this. To make things easier and to ensure the necessary information is collected we welcome DARD’s intention to make an application form available from Wednesday 17th April 2013. This can be obtained from local DARD Direct Offices as well as the DARD website and can be submitted by post or email to Orchard House. DARD has confirmed that they will accept letters up to but not after 15 May 2013.
“There are still some outstanding issues that need to be addressed including that of the damage done to fences as a result of clearing roads. In many cases, fences are no longer ‘stock proof’ and with the slightly warmer temperatures many farmers are looking to put livestock out. We have spoken to the Department for Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy and have asked him to look into this urgently.”
