Northern Ireland - Cost Impacts of Bovine TB - Farmer Survey - 2025

1. Background Information

The Andersons Centre (Andersons) has been commissioned by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland and the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) to carry out a study on the indirect costs of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) affecting farmers in Northern Ireland.

While government spending on bTB (e.g. compensation, testing, and transport) is well documented, this survey focuses on the financial, environmental, and mental health costs that are borne by farmers but which are not reimbursed.

Your answers will remain completely confidential and anonymous. The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete. Please refer to your farm records if helpful.

Thank you for your time and support.

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* 1. What is the main enterprise that your farm engaged in? (Please select one option only)

Beef

Dairy

Other (please specify)

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* 2. In addition to the main enterprise, which of the following enterprises is your farm also engaged in? (Please select all that apply)

Beef

Dairy

Other enterprises (please specify below)

No other enterprises

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* 3. For each cattle enterprise, what was the average size of the herd in 2024-25 for the following categories?

Beef - No. of Suckler Cows

Beef - No. of store/prime cattle (aged 12+ months)

Beef - No. of young cattle (<12 months)

Beef - No. of other cattle (e.g. adult bulls)

Dairy (No. of milking cows)

Dairy - No. of replacement heifers (aged 12+ months)

Dairy - No. of young cattle (<12 months)

Dairy - No. of other cattle (e.g. adult bulls)

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* 4. What is the overall size of your farm (Ha) and how many Ha of the following land types do you farm?

Lowland Farmed Area - Owned (Ha)

Lowland Farmed Area - Rented (Ha)

Less Favoured Area (LFA) - Owned (Ha)

LFA - Rented (Ha)

Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) - Owned (Ha)

SDA - Rented (Ha)

Overall farm size (Ha) (including all areas listed above)

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* 5. How many blocks of land make up your overall farm?

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* 6. Thinking about all fields and land parcels that make up your farm, how many neighbouring farms share a boundary with your land? (Note: only count each neighbouring farm once, even if it borders more than one of your land parcels.)

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* 7. If you rent land, how much land (Ha) is rented via a short-term conacre rental (short-term) and how many Ha are via a formal fixed term tenancy?

Short-term conacre (typically 11 months) (Ha)

Formal fixed term tenancy (≤ 3 years) (Ha)

Formal fixed term tenancy (>3 years) (Ha)

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* 8. How many full-time equivalents (FTEs) work on your farm for the following categories? (Please enter the total FTE for each category. For example, if there's one full-time family member and one part-time family member working ~20 hours per week, please enter "1.5" in the family labour category.)

Owner / occupier (FTE)

Family labour (FTE)

Employed labour (FTE)

Casual labour (FTE)

17% of survey complete.