DAERA Management Notes: Information Technology

If you’ve received a 2017 Agricultural and Horticultural Census form in the post this year, did you know that you can alternatively make your return through DAERA online services?

Many of you will be new to online services this year and may not be aware that there are many other useful tools available in addition to the Single Application form. Since the end of May, the Agricultural and Horticultural Census form for 2017 has been available within online services. Simply login to online services at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/onlineservices and enter your government gateway details. The ‘Farm Census 2017’ link can be found on the left hand menu.

Completing your form online has many benefits such as:

Automatic error detection.

Auto calculations, for example totals.

Provides a summary table for printing/saving.

Immediate submission.

Efficient processing for faster results.

Farm Census Section would appreciate a quick response to the survey, either online or by using the paper form as this will save issuing further reminders. The Agricultural Census is a rich source of information for farmers, industry and policy makers with data collected from 1847. All data provided is treated as confidential and may only be used for specified purposes such as the preparation of statistics.

The Agricultural Census in Northern Ireland (NI) statistics are available free to download on the DAERA website at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics.

As shown in the chart, land use in NI at June 2016 was predominately grassland which reflects the focus on grazing livestock enterprises.

Further help

If you have any problems accessing the online form please email: [email protected] or alternatively telephone 028 9442 6699.