Bord bia inspection.

blue5000

I'm due a bord bia inspection in the next couple of months. Just wondering about signs, I have the original farm gate one. Is there a sticker about the safety statement or do I buy a new sign?

What else are they likely to check, I hear more ppl are failing?

whelan2

http://www.magentadirect.ie/QUALITY-ASSURANCE-SIGN?search=sign the one I have is similar to this but there is no place to put your phone number. Records are the main thing

kevthegaff

whelan2 wrote: »

http://www.magentadirect.ie/QUALITY-ASSURANCE-SIGN?search=sign the one I have is similar to this but there is no place to put your phone number. Records are the main thing

Feck in sick of all the paperwork considering our milk is used for powder, more hidden costs, mine is coming up in the next 10 days, does the dairy one cover the beef one?

whelan2

kevthegaff wrote: »

Feck in sick of all the paperwork considering our milk is used for powder, more hidden costs, mine is coming up in the next 10 days, does the dairy one cover the beef one?

yes, 2 in the one

WheatenBriar

Cobwebs in the milking parlour might contaminate the milk apparently,so make sure you get them all with the dyson...

freedominacup

kevthegaff wrote: »

Feck in sick of all the paperwork considering our milk is used for powder, more hidden costs, mine is coming up in the next 10 days, does the dairy one cover the beef one?

According to my mate, very senior sales exec with major food processing group in this country it's worth around 2.5% of retail price to him when selling to Irish retailers, doesn't really figure internationally. Anymore than this and the retailers will just buy the imports.

kevthegaff

freedominacup wrote: »

According to my mate, very senior sales exec with major food processing group in this country it's worth around 2.5% of retail price to him when selling to Irish retailers, doesn't really figure internationally. Anymore than this and the retailers will just buy the imports.

To him or us?

freedominacup

kevthegaff wrote: »

To him or us?

To him. Id presume we get our proportional cut but I wouldn't bank on it. Bord bia need to be told to cut out the mission creep and get back to doing their actual job which is marketing our product abroad. Thus far and no further yes bastards. Ye have as much as ye're getting. If you want any further increases in standards ye better have a very lucrative multi-year contract for big chunks of our production in yer hands until then don't come near us with any new ideas about on farm standards.

Op talk up your N usage it's the new stick to beat us. Give yourself a good high plateau to be dragged down off.

blue5000

freedominacup wrote: »

To him. Id presume we get our proportional cut but I wouldn't bank on it. Bord bia need to be told to cut out the mission creep and get back to doing their actual job which is marketing our product abroad. Thus far and no further yes bastards. Ye have as much as ye're getting. If you want any further increases in standards ye better have a very lucrative multi-year contract for big chunks of our production in yer hands until then don't come near us with any new ideas about on farm standards.

Op talk up your N usage it's the new stick to beat us. Give yourself a good high plateau to be dragged down off.

On the N I am already using feck all. Turn out dates as well, so it looks like we use less carbon. If we wanted to be picky how much CO2 is emmitted by all these inspectors driving round the country? Our big brother in EU is watching all this, there's a lot more to these inspections than ticking boxes.

Agree, I can't see how pto covers affect beef/milk quality.
Just to get back to reality does anyone know what sign(s) I need to borrow off the neighbour's gate, more carbon friendly than making a new one?

Base price

blue5000 wrote: »

On the N I am already using feck all. Turn out dates as well, so it looks like we use less carbon. If we wanted to be picky how much CO2 is emmitted by all these inspectors driving round the country? Our big brother in EU is watching all this, there's a lot more to these inspections than ticking boxes.

Agree, I can't see how pto covers affect beef/milk quality.
Just to get back to reality does anyone know what sign(s) I need to borrow off the neighbour's gate, more carbon friendly than making a new one?

We haven't been in Bord Bia for several years so I'm not the best to comment on the latest requirements.
Make sure you have a farm safety risk assessment done. You don't have a chain saw, welder or angle grinder although this may not apply any more along with - you don't leave the keys in tractor/loader/digger. You don't have a digger (JCB/MF etc) as you need a ticket to drive one.
If you have outdoor slurry storage - lagoon or dungstead have warning signs. Rat bait points numbered on a map of the yard. Beware of bull signs if you have a bull or feed finishing bulls. The general "you are entering a farm" sign (occupiers liability). Chemical and medicines store signs and ensure that they are locked. Sharps/needle bucket in medicines store and a letter from your vet stating that they have disposed of unused medicines and sharps on your behalf . If you have any overhead wires in your yard a sign for those. Foot bath sign at the entrance of the yard plus a foot bath. If you have a dog I would go with a "caution - guard dog" sign. Probably the best sign that I ever purchased as my two rotties took umbrage to an unannounced visit from a travelling salesman a few years ago and he was going to call the Garda because he claimed that they were aggressive
I cannot think of any other signs at the minute but I'm sure other posters will let you know.

Jb1989

Inspection around here few weeks ago.

Bord Bia now clamping down further on the medicine usage.
You used to be fit to put dosed cattle down in simple batch numbers, but,
Now there are looking for individual tag numbers of every animal that has received any Medicines, or doseing materiel.

MickeyShtyles

If ye've a cat or wild cats around the yard, that ya give a drop of milk or food to. Make sure ya say ya give 'wormer' or 'doses' to in their food.

Base price

First Aid Kit - also ensure that it does not contain any tablets like paracetamol, disprin etc. Name and emergency phone number of nearest GP.
Fire extinguishers/blankets + appropriate signs in tool/machinery sheds and no smoking signs.

Jb1989

Base price wrote: »

First Aid Kit - also ensure that it does not contain any tablets like paracetamol, disprin etc. Name and emergency phone number of nearest GP.
Fire extinguishers/blankets + appropriate signs in tool/machinery sheds and no smoking signs.

And make sure the medicine cabinet has only medicine material in it.

The feckers black marked me one time coz I had detol disinfectant in the cabinet.
I thought I doing good thing

Can never win.


And make sure first aid is well marked and visible. I got a bad tick there too.

MickeyShtyles

Base price wrote: »

First Aid Kit - also ensure that it does not contain any tablets like paracetamol, disprin etc. Name and emergency phone number of nearest GP.
Fire extinguishers/blankets + appropriate signs in tool/machinery sheds and no smoking signs.

I woulda thought the likes of Aspirin would be alright.

Base price

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

I woulda thought the likes of Aspirin would be alright.

Not as far as I know. That's from experience over 20 years ago working in the big bad world outside farming. Fist Aid boxes don't contain ingestible medication.

Base price

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

If ye've a cat or wild cats around the yard, that ya give a drop of milk or food to. Make sure ya say ya give 'wormer' or 'doses' to in their food.

Plus the same if you have a dog and ensure that you have a script for same from your vet and entered into your medicines register.

kowtow

WheatenBriar wrote:

Cobwebs in the milking parlour might contaminate the milk apparently,so make sure you get them all with the dyson...

That's my solids down by 10%..

kowtow

Don't forget to make sure the inspector uses the antiseptic boot washing facility on arrival.

And note that there is no maximum depth specified for such a boot wash.

MickeyShtyles

kowtow wrote: »

Don't forget to make sure the inspector uses the antiseptic boot washing facility on arrival.

And note that there is no maximum depth specified for such a boot wash.

What happens if he can't swim?

foxy farmer

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

What happens if he can't swim?

You throw this to him. Should be mounted next to the boot wash!

50HX

have the medicines correct along with the store

leave out a few things deliberatly

all you need to do is pass, let them find a few issues and you have them corrected for the next time

it's all a big game anyway and the inspector has a job to do so i wouldn't worry too much about them inspections anymore

i use to be trying have everything right and inspector will always find something

half thinking of getting out of it as i don't need it for selling weanlings and no longer finishing, then again it's prob easier to stay in it than get back in i suppose

Muckit

You are dead right. Pure and utter scutter. Had an inspector from dept of Ag out for Glas a few weeks ago and in he drove straight past the footbath and never bothered with it. I said to myself why would a lad be worrying his head about things after that.

The bord bia lad then asking me questions for this makey uppey carbon footprint yoke (more scutter) and he not even listening to my answers and tapping in what he wanted to hear himself into this handheld yoke.

Paperwork and more paperwork. If it isn't written down it never happened you know. I was small talking with a lad in his late sixties on the sprayer course. He was there with another friend of his of similar vintage, for the day out. He was still the main kingpin but getting help from son with the paperwork at weekends. He summed it all up for me. 'Farming is all done now from the end of the table. But do you know something l got up this morning at half 6 and went out and fed my few sheep....... and it wasn't from the end of the table l done it.'

ganmo

50HX wrote: »

have the medicines correct along with the store

leave out a few things deliberatly

all you need to do is pass, let them find a few issues and you have them corrected for the next time

it's all a big game anyway and the inspector has a job to do so i wouldn't worry too much about them inspections anymore

i use to be trying have everything right and inspector will always find something

half thinking of getting out of it as i don't need it for selling weanlings and no longer finishing, then again it's prob easier to stay in it than get back in i suppose

tempted to drop it myself too, the only thing thats keeping me in it is that its better to fail a bb inspection than a dept one

whelan2

ganmo wrote: »

tempted to drop it myself too, the only thing thats keeping me in it is that its better to fail a bb inspection than a dept one

once everything is in order for the bord bia inspection it should be ok for a dept inspection

Parishlad

Rarely finish anything here but in Bord Bia and will probably stay there. The way I look at it is that it's good practice in terms of keeping all the records etc. up to date and should I have a Dept. inspection in the morning I should be fine!
Like someone said earlier, leave one or two small things for them to find. They will always find something so this way you can kinda control it. Make sure that the big things are in order and you'll not have a problem.
It doesn't take that much effort over and above what we should be doing anyway apart from the couple of hours required for the audit.

waalaa

The biggest issue with inspections is recording medicine use, honestly it could be easily sorted if you could record medicine usage through agfood. It's easy to be complacent and putting filling in the medicines book on the long finger, only to panic about filling in a bunch of entries before an inspection. I would bet anything if we had to input our records on agfood most would have them done within 24 hours for fear of the ever watchful eye of Sauron.

In terms of paperwork cattle farmers have it easy, you can register calves, have your herdbook, do movements all online. Try sending 200 lambs to the factory that were bought as stores and you will know what paperwork is.

farmerjj

waalaa wrote: »

The biggest issue with inspections is recording medicine use, honestly it could be easily sorted if you could record medicine usage through agfood. It's easy to be complacent and putting filling in the medicines book on the long finger, only to panic about filling in a bunch of entries before an inspection. I would bet anything if we had to input our records on agfood most would have them done within 24 hours for fear of the ever watchful eye of Sauron.

In terms of paperwork cattle farmers have it easy, you can register calves, have your herdbook, do movements all online. Try sending 200 lambs to the factory that were bought as stores and you will know what paperwork is.

Ya that's all we need more way,s they could penalise our sfp, we need to have less "paper work" and deadlines not more.

Toby12345

I am have a pain in my a$%^ from dealing with these inspections. We only have a relatively few beef animals (20 odd) and we don't finish them for killing. So are we actually legally obliged to go through with these inspection?

I have an inspection coming up and I would love to tell him to go away.

Parishlad

Toby12345 wrote: »

I am have a pain in my a$%^ from dealing with these inspections. We only have a relatively few beef animals (20 odd) and we don't finish them for killing. So are we actually legally obliged to go through with these inspection?

I have an inspection coming up and I would love to tell him to go away.

There's no obligation on you to be Bord Bia approved at all.....even if you were finishing. Obviously if you were, then there would be some reason for it. You should only have an inspection once every 18 months though and as most here would say, the things you need to have in order for BB probably should be there from a Dept. perspective also.
In any case, if it doesn't suit to be in BB and if you're not finishing then you can just let them know that you no longer want to be part of the scheme. Definitely no legal obligation.

Sam Kade

kowtow wrote: »

Don't forget to make sure the inspector uses the antiseptic boot washing facility on arrival.

And note that there is no maximum depth specified for such a boot wash.

Around 6 feet should cover most inspectors

blue5000

kowtow wrote: »

Don't forget to make sure the inspector uses the antiseptic boot washing facility on arrival.

And note that there is no maximum depth specified for such a boot wash.

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

What happens if he can't swim?

Sam Kade wrote: »

Around 6 feet should cover most inspectors

I wonder could we gunter up a foot dip over a 6ft tank, imagine a 5 gallon drum or a half beer keg with a false bottom.
I heard today of a lad that's been locked up with TB for a while, the dept suggested that he disinfect the contractor's silage harvester before he came in. FFS what next.

ganmo

blue5000 wrote: »

disinfect the contractor's silage harvester before he came in. FFS what next.

Maybe a bit ott but to be bio secure you'd want an underbody truck wash for everything coming into the yard

jfh

where did ye pick up the first aid kit?

whelan2

jfh wrote: »

where did ye pick up the first aid kit?

Got mine on magenta direct

orm0nd

jfh wrote: »

where did ye pick up the first aid kit?

audit last week checker to see that it had eye drops

FeelTheBern

orm0nd wrote: »

jfh wrote: »

where did ye pick up the first aid kit?

audit last week checker to see that it had eye drops

+1 - my kit had none- have bought separate drops this year

jfh

i have done the sprayer course, cant remember if i got a booklet to fill in.
is this needed for bord bia cert?

i use herdwatch on phone but still using blue book(just to be extra safe)
it has 3 reports for bord bia,
remedy usage
remedy purchases
feed purchases
thanks

Muckit

FeelTheBern wrote: »

+1 - my kit had none- have bought separate drops this year

I've never had a lad check the first aid kit yet. If they are at it, remember everything bar rhe scissors has a expiry date, including sterile bandages.

Cattlepen

I really think this is starting to get ridiculous. Last fella I got was a dick. Had a jealous head on him the minute he came in. I went from a 99% score the last time, and the reason it wasn't 100% was that the auditor imputed that I hadn't a map of the rat poison but I had. He couldn't change it on the computer so I got -1%. Anyway this time I got a fail. And there was no talking to yer man. Started whining on that he had a job to do and small children and a house to pay for. Doesn't everyone???
Anyway, I think it's just turned into a business that makes up SWS

paddysdream

Cattlepen wrote: »

I really think this is starting to get ridiculous. Last fella I got was a dick. Had a jealous head on him the minute he came in. I went from a 99% score the last time, and the reason it wasn't 100% was that the auditor imputed that I hadn't a map of the rat poison but I had. He couldn't change it on the computer so I got -1%. Anyway this time I got a fail. And there was no talking to yer man. Started whining on that he had a job to do and small children and a house to pay for. Doesn't everyone???
Anyway, I think it's just turned into a business that makes up SWS

Have to agree with you there.
The general idea of QA was/is probably a good one but it hasn't delivered any concrete results for farmers.It just imposes another layer of meaningless paperwork and box ticking on farmers to benefit those to whom we sell our produce.
Think I read somewhere recently that QA only makes a difference in 4 to 6% of sales of produce.
Farmers can see no tangible results from a scheme that has become more and more out of touch over the past few years.You would nearly think that they are looking for something to justify their existence with all this insistence on first aid kit/safety notice's etc .Could anyone explain what either of those ,and a myriad of other things,have to do with food safety or production?

On my last inspection got a letter about 2 months before the inspection outlining the 3 different things that I "lost marks" on in the preceding audit.
They were;no Bord Bia sign on farm entrance;no footbath/disinfection point for visitors;putting down length of time eg 14 days,instead of date eg 20th October,on remedies withdrawl record.
Sorted all the above and pointed out these to "inspector".After he spent 5 minutes in yard,never looked at stock,and an hour looking at paperwork he decided that my A score was 100% B 90 something % and C score 79%.
Asked him why and his answer was that they couldn't really give anyone 100% in everything.In other words they just look for new and/or different ways to keep you on your toes.Bit of a joke really.
Only for the 10 cent on lambs wouldn't bother with it.Cattle here are in BB scheme as well but for the amount of them wouldn't be arsed and its easier to just ignore BB with them to be honest.

Have no problem with a proper independent quality assurance scheme but no the mickey mouse version we have here where farmers are compliant but processors pick and choose the bits that suit them( and lets be honest when cattle or lambs are scarce BB goes out the window) is just window dressing.Its relevance to food safety and standards of production is remote to say the least.
Do Bord Bia not have an overall policy of a 5% failure rate to justify their"exacting" standards?

Not complaining about the actual audits as they should be ,in the vast majority of cases,a piece of p*ss to pass but rather the pointless nature of the whole exercise.
But for anyone unfortunate to fail(or in my case a few years ago forget that my certification had run out) in can be costly esp at the wrong time of year.
Mine lapsed one June and only when factory complained that my lambs were not QA did I realise it was out of date.
Sold one lot of lambs in the interm before inspection but for someone who fails and then cannot apply for 6 months(think that was or maybe still is the rule)it could be very costly esp if it was a time they were selling a lot of stock.Think dairy farmers had 14 days to rectify their problems after an inspection but in the meantime the milk was still QA .Bit unfair?

oldsmokey

Cattle tags all present.
My fella seemed to have access to vets records, cos he found a missing entry in meds book - ie found meds prescribed, not entered - would that be right?

OverRide

oldsmokey wrote: »

Cattle tags all present.
My fella seemed to have access to vets records, cos he found a missing entry in meds book - ie found meds prescribed, not entered - would that be right?

He doesn't,didn't and couldn't have access to your vets prescription records

rangler1

oldsmokey wrote: »

Cattle tags all present.
My fella seemed to have access to vets records, cos he found a missing entry in meds book - ie found meds prescribed, not entered - would that be right?

Did you have an antibiotic in the medicine box that wasn't entered in the records, don't think bord bia can request vets records

oldsmokey

rangler1 wrote: »

Did you have an antibiotic in the medicine box that wasn't entered in the records, don't think bord bia can request vets records

I suppose that was it, good to know he cant access vets records, thanks .