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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£636.6K
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Spending
£338.0K
Public benefits
The direct benefits which flow from our purposes include increased efficiency and sustainability of sheep, beef and dairy farming this leads to improvements in the rural economy, animal welfare, reducing the environmental footprint of farming and improving habitats and biodiversity, promoting Northern Ireland’s agri-food science base. These
benefits are demonstrated through feedback from the farming community and agricultural organisations as well as independent reviews of the impact of our co-funded research. The purposes do not lead to harm. The charity’s beneficiaries are those engaged in sheep, beef and dairy farming within Northern Ireland. Given the importance of the agri-food sector to the Northern Ireland economy there will be consequential benefits to the wider population of Northern Ireland. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose are the control and eventual eradication of ‘non-statutory’ animal diseases. This leads to improvements in the rural economy (due to lower production losses from animal diseases) and improvements in animal welfare. The beneficiaries of these activities are those engaged in beef and dairy farming within Northern Ireland. Given the importance of the agri-food sector to the Northern Ireland economy there will be consequential benefits to the wider population of Northern Ireland. In addition improved efficiency in farming systems through disease control will also reduce the carbon footprint of each litre of milk/kilo of beef. These benefits can be evidenced and proven by data collected by Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland showing the prevalence rate of the diseases. Since the start of the BVD control programme, 2 years ago, the prevalence rate of persistently infected animals has dropped from 0.6% to 0.5%. Research previously commissioned by AgriSearch clearly demonstrates the economic impact of these diseases and the benefits on controlling them. The only potential ‘harm’ arising from these activities is the cost to the farmers associated with collecting and analysing samples for disease. However, these costs are far outweighed by the benefits of reducing infection in the herd. There is no significant private benefit arising from these activities. All farmers, including any who are Trustees and other persons associated with AgriSearch, can participate in these disease control schemes. The principle costs within the schemes are administration (which is kept at a low level) and provision of a database to hold the results of the schemes. Currently this database is provided by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute which is a Non Departmental Public Body.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
AgriSearch uses its funds to commission research (usually with the aid of government co-funding) into the improvement of beef, sheep and dairy farming. The results of this research are then disseminated to farmers through a variety of methods including press articles, farm walks, seminars, printed material, website & social media. AgriSearch’s
guiding principles are to provide practical benefit for primary producers to reduce costs, improve performance, drive innovation, improve animal welfare and reduce environmental footprint of farming (including lowering greenhouse gas emissions). Other aims are to avoid duplication of research and to maximise leverage of complimentary funding. AgriSearch also financially supports the animal disease control programmes operated by Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland. Current schemes include the BVD Eradication Programme and the Johnes Disease Control Programme.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of education
- The advancement of animal welfare
Who the charity helps
- Adult training
- Men
- Older people
- Women
- Youth (14-25 year olds)
How the charity works
- Animal welfare
- Education/training
- Environment/sustainable development/conservation
- Research/evaluation
- Rural development
