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Farming Today: 02/06/23 Proposed cow cull in Ireland; seasonal workers from central Asia;  Eggs in vaccines.

02/06/23 Proposed cow cull in Ireland; seasonal workers from central Asia;  Eggs in vaccines.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 02/06/23 Proposed cow cull in Ireland; seasonal workers from central Asia;  Eggs in vaccines.

Irish plans to cull 200,000 cows, seasonal workers from central Asia, eggs in vaccines.

Irish government plans to cull 200,000 cows to meet emission targets. Tens of thousands of workers to be recruited from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Using eggs to make vaccines.

Nearly 200,000 cows could be culled to meet emissions targets in Ireland - farming has to reduce emissions by 25% by 2025 and Department of Agriculture plans say that means 65,000 cows need to be culled every year for the next three years, at a cost of two hundred million euros a year. This is a bit of an about turn as over the past few years Irish governments have encouraged the expansion of dairy farming  - a decline in the beef herd means that target has already been met. 

The governments of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan will in effect recruit workers for UK farms. They've signed new Agreements with the UK's Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority to improve protections for seasonal workers coming to work here. There have been concerns that workers are vulnerable and some have said they were made to pay for a contract here - which isn't allowed and left them in debt. Between them Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan supplied 6,000 seasonal workers last year... but are expected to provide tens of thousands more over the next few years 

All week we're talking about farming pharma - the medicines we grow on farm either as by-products or as dedicated crops. We speak to a business which uses millions of eggs every week - but not for food. CSL Sequris, based in Liverpool,  produces flu vaccines for use all over the world - using about 600,000 eggs a day. 

 
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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Farming Today

02/06/23 Proposed cow cull in Ireland; seasonal workers from central Asia; Eggs in vaccines.

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