DAERA Management Notes: Information Technology

DAERA online services are designed to help you reduce many of the paper based transactions required by DAERA. They are free, easy to use, available 24/7, safe and secure. The online services also help you comply with legislation, reduce potential errors and give access to detailed information about your business and animals. The services are supported through a dedicated online services helpdesk and bespoke training courses provided by CAFRE.

Amongst the services on offer are:

APHIS online - herd keepers register over 500,000 calf births every year and over 340,000 of these are now notified online. APHIS online enables you to notify animal births and deaths (MC1), complete movement notifications (MC2), access up to date animal information and most recently use the online system as your herd book.

Single Application and Maps - 62% of Single Applications were submitted online in 2016. The built-in error alerts and warnings help prevent incorrect applications being made. You can view and make changes to your map while within the online single application. Doing this automatically updates your field data table which means there is no need to complete a paper LPIS Correction Form for the majority of cases. Using the online service means you can complete and submit the form at a time that’s convenient to you and receive instant confirmation of your submission. Once you submit your application you can make changes to the form right up to the application closing date.

CAFRE Nutrient Calculators – these five calculators are designed to help you comply with the Nitrates Action Programme measures on nutrient limits, manure storage requirements and record keeping. They make complex calculations and record keeping easier and could also help you improve soil fertility and crop yields, whilst making potential savings on chemical fertilizer usage and ultimately improve water quality.

Farm Investment Planner - this is designed to assist you with mapping potential capital investment (primarily construction) on your farm business. It can be used to label existing or proposed buildings or mark those for demolition. The approximate dimensions of buildings are displayed including the length of each wall and the area of the building to assist you with scoping out the general layout of your potential construction project. You can also draw freehand or measure distances or areas which could be useful for planning cattle laneways, length of fencing or drainage which will assist with preparing costs before deciding to proceed with your investment.

BovIS - the Bovine Information System (BovIS) is a suite of online applications which aim to give the producer the tools to monitor livestock performance and make informed management decisions to improve production efficiency and overall profitability.

The BovIS carcase benchmarking application provides beef producers with a facility to view, analyse and rank the performance of slaughtered animals which have passed through Northern Ireland abattoirs. The BovIS growth rate calculator provides beef and dairy farmers with a facility to quickly and easily evaluate the growth performance of cattle within their herd. The greenhouse gas calculator enables dairy farmers to calculate the carbon footprint of their production system at farm level. There is currently a beef tool under development.

CAFRE Benchmarking – benchmarking is the first step to find out how your business is performing. The CAFRE Benchmarking service helps you assess your business performance and compare physical and financial results with previous years, other similar farms and industry standards. The system delivers a financial and physical report for each enterprise on the farm, and a whole farm report which identifies reasons for variation, areas where improvements can be made and provides information to set realistic physical and financial performance targets.

To find out more about these services, training courses or register for DAERA online services:

Telephone 028 9442 6699. Email: [email protected]. Text: Easy to 67300. Or visit: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/onlineservices.

Give it a go ... use DAERA online services today.