Martin Merrick

Crossmolina, Ireland

Buildings and Labour Efficiency Reporter at Irish Farmers Journal

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Articles

TAMS III: avoiding the pitfalls when applying

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

TAMS III has been a hugely popular scheme, with over 30,000 applications made in the first two years. While IT issues and an influx of applications slowed down the approval process for the first year or more, the Department has picked up the pace with approvals, with the aim being to reel the approvals process back to a three-month window, as was common in previous TAMS schemes.
The Grass Week: weed control in older pastures and reseeds

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

Growth has been relatively good since the rainfall has returned, but, as is always the case, someone upstairs could do with turning off the tap now - it’s made enough rainfall even for the driest of farms. While a good deal of fieldwork had been completed before then, there is still a lot of farms that had held off on first cut now sitting on their hands for a few dry days.
Short window to correct BISS applications without penalty

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

The Department announced on 11 June two opportunities for farmers to make corrections to applications of their 2025 BISS and other area -based schemes without penalty. The first of these are preliminary checks which will identify any over-claims, overlaps or dual claims. Notifications are issued where the department finds such an error on the farmer’s application. For 2025, approximately 4,600 herds will receive a preliminary check notification.
Designing automatic calf feeder accommodation for smaller numbers

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

Several of the calf sheds I have feature here have been of a larger scale, capable of holding over 100 calves, while a good deal of them have been designed for automatic feeding. It’s something that more and more farmers are looking to do, with skilled labour for such a short-time period in spring hard to come by. But what about calf housing for dairy beef farmers or smaller-scale dairy farmers who are looking to rear 50-60 calves?
Grass+ Beef: surplus begins to build on farms

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

Growth has been ticking along nicely now for the majority of farmers, and with some early cut silage ground coming back in to the mix for some farms, the bank of grass is building on some farms. At this time of the year, it can be very easy to let things get out of control. Simply following the rotation and grazing paddocks despite their cover can lead to poor utilisation in that paddock. More importantly, it increases the time spent in the paddock, pushing out the rotation length.
Sheep mart comment: ship steadies after slippage earlier in the week

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

After a rocky start to the week with factory quotes dropping by 10c to 20c/kg, the ship has steadied slightly and prices for midweek sales were on par with Monday sales. Reports are that numbers are slightly improved this week, with some February- or early March-born lambs that were being creep fed now hitting marts. Lambs weighing in the region of 41kg to 46kg are trading in the main from €170 to upwards of €180, depending on condition, with top prices rising to €185.
Watch: over €10/kg paid for Blue bull weanling in Balla

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

Phenomenal money is being paid for weanlings in marts currently, with export-quality lots commanding the top prices. In Balla Mart’s general cattle sale on Saturday last, the average price across all weight categories of bull weanlings crossed the €5/kg mark. A representative of Balla Mart noted: "There is greater numbers of weanlings coming through the ring, way more than normal for this time of year.
The Grass Week: correcting paddocks and building silage stocks to the fore

3 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

WeatherThe rainfall of late has helped shore up growth no end. It was looking like a drought was imminent on some drier farms in the south and east, but thankfully sufficient rain arrived in time. However, paddocks did come under some moisture stress which led to some stemming out. Even if we had perfect weather conditions, it’s just the natural time of the year for paddocks to stem out, with correction being required. ToppingTopping is a bit of a dirty word.
Camera at the Mart: bigger bite for young cattle in Headford

3 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

There was definitely keen demand for younger-type cattle in Headford Mart at the general cattle sale last Saturday, with farmer buyers and shippers active for quality continental types. Some 227 cattle passed through the ring and under the gavel of auctioneer Pat Burke, a high number for the time of year, with sellers still anxious to capitalise on keen demandYoung Charolais bullocks in the eight- to 14-month-old bracket were in demand, with the majority being good Limousin and Charolais-crosses.
Slurry stores and slats: planning debacle needs to be sorted

3 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Martin Merrick

I often get approached and asked “is it worth going for the grant? I might find it hard to get planning.’’ That to me is a red flag straight away. If you will find it hard to get planning, what is the reason for that? Will a neighbour report you, or a so called ‘serial objector’ who might get a tip off about your new tank and do the deed from the other side of the country?