Knowledge Transfer Programme Beef, Dairy and Equine Scheme Specifications

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1 Knowledge Transfer Programme Beef, Dairy and Equine Scheme Specifications Introduction The Knowledge Transfer Programme is drawn up in accordance with Council Regulations (EC) No. 1305/2013 and Council Regulations (EC) No. 1306/2013 with the detailed rules contained in Commission Regulations (EC) Nos. 807/2014, 808/2014 and 809/2014. The measure is co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) with total funding of 100m available for the measure under the Rural Development Programme. This will provide for 27,000 farmers participating for 3 years in Knowledge Transfer Groups across the dairy, beef, equine, sheep, tillage and poultry sectors. The Programme will be administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and delivered by a network of DAFM approved facilitators. The objectives of the Programme are to: Assist the development and transfer of knowledge on key aspects of farmers business including profitability, environmental sustainability, breeding and animal health measures. Raise awareness of issues relating to Farm Health & Safety and Farm Progression. While the sectoral criteria may vary the general focus of the programme will be on the principles of dairy, beef and equine farm management. The topics covered will include among others: Profitability & Financial Management, Grassland Management and Sustainability, Animal Health Measures, Farm Health and Safety, Farm Progression Planning, and Cell Check Farmer Workshop (Dairy). Participating Knowledge Transfer facilitators require a minimum of an QQI (NFQ) level 8 Agriculture Science Degree in a relevant discipline, have Indemnity Insurance and must be willing to undertake Facilitator Training and related Continuous Professional Development Training as provided by the Department over the duration of the programme. Approved DAFM facilitators are required to be registered as online agents with the DAFM online system ( for the purposes of registering and managing any Knowledge Transfer groups. Existing online agents will be required to apply to the DAFM online services to gain access to the online Knowledge Transfer system. 1 P a g e

2 Only DAFM approved facilitators may register Knowledge Transfer groups and must register their intention to run groups on DAFM s online Knowledge Transfer system by 21 st of August 2015 for the purposes of Ranking and Selection. DAFM approved facilitators may register a maximum of FIVE groups across ALL Knowledge Transfer sectors i.e. Beef, Dairy, Equine, Poultry, Tillage and Sheep. Groups must have between 12 and 18 members. Groups outside this range may be approved in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Department. Ranking and Selection DAFM approved facilitators will indicate, on registration, the following in respect of each proposed group: Willingness to undertake to have additional expertise available at meeting(s). This can includes qualified Agronomists, Accountants, Solicitors and Veterinary Practitioners. (20 marks) Willingness to undertake to include a meeting on the subject of Farm Progression Planning. (20 marks) Composition of proposed group to have no less than 20% new entrants. Participants will be deemed to be new entrants where they have not been beneficiaries under any of previous DAFM Discussion Group schemes in that specific sector only. (50 marks) Also additional marks will be awarded where the facilitator holds educational qualification higher that QQI Level 8 in a relevant discipline. (20 marks) In the event of oversubscription all groups will be ranked and selected on the basis of the above criteria. Marks for each element are as set out in brackets above. Facilitators will be informed the outcome of the Ranking & Selection process. Penalties, including possible removal from the scheme, will apply to approved facilitators where failure to deliver on ranking and selection criteria becomes evident. Registration of Group Participants Following Ranking and Selection facilitators will be notified of their successful groups and each facilitator will at that stage register on the online Knowledge Transfer system details of participants for each DAFM approved Knowledge Transfer Group. A signed application form for each participant shall be uploaded on the online Knowledge Transfer system. Where the group received credit under Ranking & Selection for new entrants this commitment shall be fulfilled or the group shall be deemed invalid. Participants can only be included in one Knowledge Transfer Group at any time for the three year 2 P a g e

3 duration of the Programme. Where a participant is registered more than once on the online Knowledge Transfer system the first chronological registration shall be deemed valid. Facilitator Eligibility KT Beef and KT Dairy approved facilitators must hold a minimum of QQI (NFQ) Level 8 qualification in Agricultural Science or an equivalent qualification. KT Equine approved facilitators must hold a minimum of a QQI (NFQ) Level 8 qualification in Equine Science or an equivalent qualification. Facilitators must at a minimum hold professional indemnity insurance of 150,000 for the duration of the Programme. Facilitators must participate in ongoing Continuous Professional Development provided by DAFM under EU Regulation 1305/2013. Facilitators must be a registered agent on the Department s Online System. Participant Eligibility To be eligible participants must: be aged eighteen years or over at date of registration. be the holder of an active herd number (dairy and beef) with Herd Owner Status at date of registration. Herd Keeper is not acceptable. be the holder of a Department Register Equine Premises Number at date of registration (equine). be farming a holding in respect of which a valid Basic Payment Scheme application is submitted to the Department (dairy and beef) on a yearly basis and on which all land parcels are declared. apply for the Knowledge Transfer Programme using the herdnumber under which their Basic Payment scheme application is made (dairy and beef). apply for the Knowledge Transfer Programme using their registered Equine Premises Number (equine). be producing and delivering milk to a registered Milk Purchaser during the 2014/2015 (dairy). Participants must be registered for ICBF s HerdPlus at the time of application and remain registered for the duration of the Programme. have a suckler herd and must be registered for ICBF Beef HerdPlus service at the time of registration and remain registered for the duration of the Programme (beef). Nonsuckler farmers must be members of the Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance Scheme at the time of registration and remain registered for the duration of the Programme. have a DAFM registered Equine Premises and have a minimum of 2 breeding mares (equine). 3 P a g e

4 Knowledge Transfer Group Eligibility Criteria Knowledge Transfer Groups must consist of between 12 members and 18 members, Variations may be allowed in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Department and will be considered on receipt of an application from the DAFM approved Knowledge Transfer facilitator. The DAFM approved Knowledge Transfer facilitator shall be present at all meetings including those delivered by others e.g. where additional expertise provided. Groups must hold a minimum of one meeting over the course of the Knowledge Transfer Programme dedicated to Farm Health and Safety. This meeting shall address the topics as directed by the Facilitators Farm Health and Safety Training as provided by DAFM under Article 15 of EU Regulation 1305/2013 which relates to Continuous Professional Development. Groups must hold a minimum of one meeting over the course of the Knowledge Transfer Programme with a Department approved Knowledge Transfer Veterinary Practitioner. Knowledge Transfer Group Meetings. Participants in the Knowledge Transfer programme shall be required to attend a minimum of five Knowledge Transfer Group meetings per year, or at least four meetings and no more than one Department accredited national event. Participants shall sign a standard attendance sheet within the first thirty minutes of the start of each meeting as proof of their attendance at the required number of meetings during the Programme year. The facilitator shall ensure that the attendance sheet is accurate and that all attendees have signed. Facilitators shall also record attendance at meetings on the Department s online system and upload a scanned copy of the attendance sheet onto the online Knowledge Transfer system. Facilitators shall apply using the online Knowledge Transfer system at least FIVE working days in advance of the proposed date of each group meeting and only meetings notified in this way shall count as satisfying the requirements of the Knowledge Transfer Programme. Notification can only be made using the online Knowledge Transfer system. All Knowledge Transfer Group meetings shall be two hours duration and cover topics pertinent to the Knowledge Transfer Programme. There shall be a minimum of twenty days between each Knowledge Transfer group meeting. Participants attending a DAFM approved national event shall not claim credit for attending a Knowledge Transfer Group meeting on the same date. No more than two meetings are permitted in any twenty four hour period. No meetings are permitted on Weekends or Public Holidays. Joint meetings are prohibited. 4 P a g e

5 No meetings can be held outside the State. No meetings can commence after 8pm. National Events Applications for DAFM approval of proposed national events shall be submitted to at least twenty days prior to the date of the proposed event. A list of qualifying events will be published on the DAFM website. Each listed event will have a registration period, specified by the Department when approving the event, during which participating farmers must register their attendance with DAFM Knowledge Transfer staff at the event. No credit will be given for attendance at national events unless recorded officially by designated DAFM staff during designated time slots. Notification of such time slots will be published on the DAFMs website Participants shall be required to have proof of identity available. Farm Improvement Plan Each participant shall complete a Farm Improvement Plan with his/her DAFM approved Knowledge Transfer facilitator. The elements of the Farm Improvement Plan shall vary from one sector to another but will consist of some or all of the following elements: E-Profit Monitor must be completed at the start of the Knowledge Transfer Programme and updated on an annual basis. Participants must complete a Teagasc Profit Monitor (or equivalent as approved by DAFM) for the previous production year on the participants own farm, as verified by the facilitator. Participants must complete a Breeding Plan in year one and update on an annual basis. Participants must complete the Animal Health Measure with a Department approved Knowledge Transfer Veterinary Practitioner in year one and update on an annual basis. KT Participants shall complete a Carbon Navigator/Grassland Management Plan using the Bord Bia online facility or in the case of the Management Plan using DAFMs on-line system. Participants must complete the Farm Health and Safety requirement with their Knowledge Transfer Facilitator in year one and update on an annual basis. KT Equine participants will complete their Farm Improvement Plan online using Horse Sport Ireland s dedicated KT Equine System. KT Dairy Farmers must participate in a Cell Check Farmer Workshop within the first 18 months of the commencement of the Knowledge Transfer Programme. Workshops will be organised by the discussion group facilitator, with the support of CellCheck Regional Coordinators. Workshops will be timetabled according to a quarterly schedule, to be developed by Animal Health Ireland. 5 P a g e

6 Rates and Methods of Payment In accordance with EU Regulation 1305/2013 the Facilitator is the beneficiary under the Knowledge Transfer Programme. The facilitator is responsible for reimbursing the participant in respect of the Knowledge Transfer Programme. In this regard DAFM will issue the farmer payment to the facilitator upon successful completion of the programme on an annual basis and upon receipt of proof that this has issued to the individual farmer issue the facilitator element. Participants shall provide the Knowledge Transfer Group facilitator and DAFM with details of their nominated bank account into which such reimbursement shall be paid. This reimbursement shall be 750 per participant where all the Terms & Conditions of the Knowledge Transfer Programme have been met. The facilitator payment in respect of the Knowledge Transfer Programme shall be 500 per participant where all the Terms & Conditions of the Programme have been met. Facilitators shall reimburse the Knowledge Transfer participant via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) within ten working days of payment by DAFM. Payment to Knowledge Transfer Group facilitators shall issue after DAFM has received confirmation of payment to all participants. Inspections, Administrative and Compliance Checks All applications for support and payment claims will be subjected to administrative checks, and any other controls deemed necessary, before approvals or payments are made under the Knowledge Transfer Programme. Participants and facilitators shall facilitate such administrative and on the spot checks as the Department deems necessary. Applications will be crosschecked with records held by the Department. On-the-spot Inspections will be carried out to ensure compliance with the requirement of the Knowledge Transfer Programme. Candidate meetings and facilitator inspections shall be selected on the basis of risk analysis and supplemented with a random selection. No payment shall be made in favour of facilitators or participants where it is established by the Department that they artificially created the conditions required for obtaining such payments with a view to obtaining an advantage contrary to the objectives of the Scheme. 6 P a g e

7 Penalties Failure to comply with the Terms and Conditions will result in an appropriate penalty/sanction. Penalties will apply to breaches of the Scheme and will be clearly set out in the detailed Terms and Conditions. Data Protection Facilitators and participants should be aware that all the information supplied on applications and in any supporting documentation shall be made available to any other Department or Agency solely for audit and evaluation purposes of this Knowledge Transfer Programme and all Rural Development measures, as well as controls in relation to the legislation governing the Basic Payments Scheme, and as appropriate, in accordance with the requirements under the Freedom of Information Act. This publication of payment details is a requirement of EU law. The data therein may be processed by auditing and investigating bodies of the Communities and the Member States for the purposes of safeguarding the Communities financial interests. You are also notified that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is required, in accordance with EU law, to publish on a website, details of the names, addresses and amounts received by legal persons (not a natural person but, for example, a company), who are beneficiaries of funds deriving from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The rights of data subjects and how they may be exercised in this respect are laid down in the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and AIM data will be provided by the Department to ICBF for the purposes of this Knowledge Transfer Programme. Some of the scheme related data will be made available by ICBF to Bord Bia/Teagasc for the purposes of completing your carbon navigator (dairy and beef). Some of the scheme related data will be made available to Horse Sport Ireland for use on their dedicated KT Equine System (equine). Publication of data under Regulation 1306/2013 In accordance with Regulation 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, data of beneficiaries of funding under EAGF and EAFRD will be published, and may be processed by auditing and investigating bodies of the European Union and of Member States for the purpose of safeguarding the European Union s financial interests. 7 P a g e