Farming
Sunday setting should help to swell the crowds at Eyrecourt’s fourth annual show
EYRECOURT are hosting their fourth agricultural show on Sunday week next, September 22 – it’s the first time the show has been held on a Sunday and it promises to be a great family fun day, bigger and better than previous years with lots of entertainment for all the family.
There are numerous classes for horses, cattle, sheep, baking, home produce and crafts with two excellent painting classes encouraging amateur painters. FBD have generously sponsored the kids essay competition with the very latest ipad as first prize.
Entry is free for this class and is open to all children 12 years and under. The title of the essay is ‘Farm Safety’ which is very topical at the moment with too many tragedies occurring within the farming communities around the country caused by machinery, livestock, slurry tanks and overhead lines etc.
There will be a fashion show courtesy of the fabulous Ladies Day Boutique in Portumna and also a Queen of the Show competition on the day with five lovely local young ladies who were chosen at the Eyrecourt vintage rally last June in the final
The show will also provide a showcase of local produce such as jam harvested from local berries and honey from the bees flying around us everyday.
The cattle section is like a scene from a celebrity wedding with grooming, washing and blow-drying. The horses arrive with their coats shining, manes plaited and hooves polished and are such a credit to their owners.
The show has an official website: eyrecourtagrishow.ie where classes can be viewed and entry forms downloaded. Brendan O’Toole from SOBAC, who is a generous show sponsor, will be there on the day with a new organic product – a bacterial humus creator and soil activator.
Liffey Mills and TLT International have supported the show since its inception and we are indebted to them. So far this year we have also received sponsorship from many local businesses.
Dog show young handler, junior cookery, photography, arts and crafts, best scarecrow and junior stock handler are some of the categories for the younger ones. The local Ladies Club, under the guidance of Margaret Bradley and Ann Gilligan, will host the tea tent. Admission is €10 with children free.
On Saturday night, September 21, on the main street in Eyrecourt, a tug-o-war competition will be held under the watchful eye of Michael Stapelton. This event is kindly sponsored by Mike and Essie Stapelton. Children have free entry and the adults’ entry fee is €10 – the show starts at 12 noon.
We wish our neighbouring Agricultural show Mountbellew every success on Saturday. The show can be contacted on: eyrecourtagrishow.ie or eyrecourtagrishow@gmail.com or Facebook; Eyrecourt Agricultural Show or Chris Nevin, 086-3752700.
FUNDING for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) needs to be nearly stepped up to bring into line with the rate of payment under the new Suckler Cow Scheme, Galway IFA Chairman said this week.
The told the Farming Tribune that he had asked Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue during his recent visit to Galway to seriously review the rates of payment in SIS, which currently works out at €12 per ewe.
“A suckler cow is classed as one livestock unit while seven ewes are also one unit. Yet the SIS payment for a sheep livestock unit is way under half what will be paid out under the new SCEP and BEEP-S schemes,” said Stephen Canavan.
He added that the IFA had been lobbying for a long time for an increase in the ewe payments but the increase of €2 per ewe – €10 to €12 – was no more than a token gesture.
“We know full well how important the new schemes will be for suckler farmers but we need an equivalent payment for sheep.
“As things stand, the payment for a sheep livestock unit (€84 made up 7 X €12), is completely insufficient. We have consistently called for a €30 per ewe payment,” said Stephen Canavan.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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FARM families have been advised of key dates and positive changes to the SUSI third level education grants.
Today – Thursday, June 8 – is the deadline for grant renewal applications while the last date for new grant applications is Thursday, July 6.
The IFA has advised that many students from farm families qualify for the SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) grants.
Teresa Roche, Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Rep, told the Farming Tribune said that farm and rural families needed to keep in mind the deadline dates for applications.
She said that the grants provided many farm families with the chance to send their children to third level colleges – reducing considerably the costs involved.
“We are all well aware of the major costs involved in third-level education in terms of accommodations, fees and other expenses.
“The SUSI grants can help to ease the burden of those financial costs on farm families so it is important to be aware of upcoming deadline dates,” said Teresa Roche.
She pointed out that there were important changes to the Student Grant Scheme announced in Budget 2023 which farm families should familiarise themselves with.
These included an increase in the income limit from €55,240 to €62,000 for the 50% student contribution grant and a new student contribution grant of €500 for incomes between €62,000 and €100,000. The postgraduate fee contribution grant has also increased by €500 from €3,500 to €4,000.
According to IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs National Chair, Alice Doyle, the changes to the scheme were important ones for farm families which would allow a greater number of them to access the grants.
“The increase in the income threshold means more families can access support and more students will qualify this year,” she added.
■ The SUSI Support Desk is open Monday to Friday (9.00am – 5.30pm), excluding public holidays. They can be contacted by phone on 0818-888-777 or by email on support@susi.ie.
THE fact that over 20,000 farmers have applied for inclusion in the new suckler cow scheme is a positive indication for a farming sector that’s considered to be one of the main bedrocks of agriculture in the West of Ireland, according to Galway’s IFA Livestock representative, Micheál Haverty.
He said that since 2018, there had been a 12% to 14% decrease in Irish suckler cow numbers across the county mainly due to the tight margins and the labour intensive nature of in the enterprise.
“The fact that over 20,000 farmers have applied for inclusion in the new SCEP scheme is a step in the right direction. Without a viable suckler cow sector across the country, and especially in the West of Ireland, the viability of the country’s multi-billion euro beef sector would be in doubt,” Micheál Haverty told the Farming Tribune.
He also called for no time lag to follow with the introduction of the new BEEP-S scheme which would be an additional financial supplement to the SCEP payments. “The Minister [Charlie McConalogue] has committed to introducing the new BEEP-S scheme as quickly as possible – we are expecting confirmation of this over the next week or two,” said Micheál Haverty.
Galway tops the county ‘league table’ in terms of SCEP (Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme) applications (which closed on May 22 last) with 2,428 farmers from the county applying, followed by Mayo on 1,886, Clare on 1,791, Cork (1,537), Roscommon (1,196), Donegal (1,067) and Kerry (1,050).
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Exhibition of boats and ships in Connemara continues over the weekend in Carna
Special Mass of Remembrance for children to be held in Barna Tomorrow afternoon
Book on Galway’s “Terrible Twins” to be launched in Tuam today.
Galway City Corpus Christi Procession to use the New Salmon Weir Pedestrian Bridge for the First Time
Jason O’Sullivan named the lawyer of the year as Galway Law Firms win big at Irish Law Awards
East Galway farm sells for €1.3 million
Detached home in Knocknacarra has host of amenities nearby
Official opening of Galway’s new pedestrian and cycle bridge
OPW Minister to meet Council engineers on ‘flawed’ motorway design
Minister branded ‘a disgrace’ for reversing land rezoning in Galway City
