IFA President Mr Tom Parlon joined north Louth farmers yesterday when they met officials of the Department of Agriculture to examine ways to make farming easier within the exclusion zone - without deviating from the strict controls in force to prevent foot-and-mouth reaching the Republic.
Ninety per cent of farmers in the zone are sheep farmers. There is a small number of significant dairy herds and a smaller number of tillage farms. Practical problems have been experienced since the outbreak was confirmed at Meigh in south Armagh and the exclusion zone was established last week.
These include the loss of 55,000 gallons of milk, which has been dumped into underground slurry tanks because it cannot be collected or moved out of the zone.
The delegation met senior officials from the Department of Agriculture in the Ballymascanlon Hotel, Dundalk, where the Department has located its Louth office, and from where it is operating the controls in the exclusion zone.
Mr Parlon said agreement was reached on providing a specially commissioned truck to visit farms and collect the milk. Efforts were under way yesterday to find a dairy co-op that would accept the milk.