Defra Cost-Sharing Plans Headage Fee
UK - Livestock producers will be forced to pay a headage fee on each animal they own under plans to shift the cost of animal health on to farmers, set to be formally unveiled by Defra this autumn.
15 August 2008
1 minute read
In return, the department will propose setting up a brand new body, possibly with full independence from the Government, to give the industry a greater say over animal health policy, reports the Farmers Guardian.
Defra revealed this week that an annual registration scheme for livestock farmers would also form the core of the consultation on responsibility and cost sharing, due to start in ‘late autumn 2008’.
Under the scheme, a fee per head would be set for each species and farmers’ payments would be based on the number and types of animals they owned.
According to Farmers Guardian, each year, farmers would complete a self-declaration form registering the number of livestock of each species on their holdings and their payment would be calculated accordingly.
The consultation is likely to discuss whether the level of payment should also be linked to the ‘risk status’ of the holding.
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