All farmers within the EU are set to face extra vets’ bills for every livestock they hold. It is estimated the total cost to the Irish farming industry will be around €20m. This is down to new regulation due to be set by European Parliament. New animal health legislation will require farmers to carry out inspections separate from the annual blood tests. The legislation was agreed by the Greek presidency of the EU and was also discussed at the plenary session in the European Parliament last week. The new legislation could be introduced late this year or early 2015.