IFA Animal Health Chairman Bert Stewart says the development of a Code of Practice for BVD testing laboratories is progressing slowly to a conclusion.
He says this Code has come about as a result of IFA’s demands for a compensation fund for farmers in the BVD programme who received incorrect negative test results for PI calves or who purchased animals with a negative test result which subsequently was identified as a PI.
Bert Stewart said the fund must offset any losses experienced by farmers in this situation.
The IFA Chairman said farmers have spent almost €50m in BVD testing since the Programme commenced. They expect the designated laboratories to support the Code in order to compensate farmers for losses incurred because animals were assigned the incorrect BVD status.
