COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: N1035855 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 102341 The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statements 31 March 2024 AUBREY CAMPBELL & COMPANY Chartered accountants & statutory auditor 631 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 7GT
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024 Page Trustees, annual report (incorporating the directoffs report) Independent auditorfs report to the members Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) 16 22 Statement of financial position Statement of cash flows 23 24 Notes to the financial statements 25 The following pages do not form part of the financial statements Detailed statement of financial activities 41 Notes to the detailed statement of financial activities 43
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 The trustees. who are also the directors for the purposes of company law. present their report and the rinancial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. Chalr's report The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 3 to the accounts and comply with the Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)"
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (eontlnuad) Year ended 31 March 2024 Reference and administrative detsils Registered charity name The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Charity registration number 102341 Company registration number N1035855 Principal office and registered Innovation Centre office Large Park Hillsborough Co. Down BT26 6DR Northern Ireland The trustees Mr Seamus Mccaffrey Mr Charles John Henning Mr Conall Donnelly Mrs Jo-Anne E Dobson Mrs Valerie Mcconnell Mr David Rea Mr Ivor Ferguson Prof. Gerald Eugene Boyle Mr lan Gardiner Mccluggage Mr James Norman Mcmordie Mr Alan Mccay Mr Samuel Chesney Mr Richard Cleland Mr Daryl Daniel McLaughlin Mrs Beulah Louise Skelly (Resigned 28 November 2023) (Resigned 28 April 2023) (Resigned 28 November 2023) (Appointed 21 July 2023) (Appointed 28 November 2023) Company secretary Mr Sean Kane Auditor Aubrey Campbell & Company Chartered accountants & statutory auditor 631 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 7GT
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) fcontInu) Year ended 31 March 2024 Structurei governance and management Nature of overnin document and how charit is constituted 'AgriSearch' is the trading name for the Northern Ireland Agricultural Research & Development Council, a charitable company. limited by guarantee with no share capital. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. Methods to recruit and a oint new trustees The Board of Trustees, who are also the Directors of the Charitable Company. are appointed by the Council. The Trustees appoint three Advisory Committees to consider and monitor appropriate research projects. Nominations are received from the Ulster Farmers, Union for three farmer Trustees. On behalf of processors (who are levy collectors) DairyUK and Nl Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) nominate one trustee each. Three farmer Trustees are recruited independently with the aim of ensuring that relevant differing aspects of farm husbandry are represented as far as possible and that there is widespread representation a¢ross Northern Ireland. Additional independent Trustees are recruited who are not active farmers but have standing within the agricultural community and have experience of a commercial environment. Members of the charity are approved at the AGM following nomination by the Trustees. While nominations for Trustees are received from the Ulster Farmers, Union, DairyUK and NIMEA the final decision as to who to appoint is at the discretion of the members of the charity. Indemnit rovision for trustees Every member of the Charity undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required (not exceeding £11 to the Charity's assets if it should be wound up while he or she is a member or within one year after he or she ceases to be a member, for payment of the Charity's debts and liabilities contracted before he or she ceases to be a member, and of the costs, Charges and expenses of winding up. and for the adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves. Trustees are also Covered by a management and corporate liability insurance policy. anisational structure and how chari makes decisions The Board of Trustees meets five times per year and each of the Advisory Committees meets when required to review funding and expenditure proposals and to identify future research needs. The Chairman. Vice-chairmen. Senior Vice-chairman and the General Manager meet frequently to review the day to day operation and govemance of the organisation. The three advisory committees consist of farmer members, independent s¢ientific advisors and representatives of the processing sectors. The Beef and Sheep Advisory Committees also have a representative from the Livestock and Meat Commission for Nl. Their role is to identify and evaluate research proposals and recommend projects to the Trustees. Each committee includes one representative of College of Agriculture. Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in an advisory Capacity. The Trustees review all proposals from advisory committees, taking into account the finances of the
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (oontlnugd) Year ended 31 March 2024 organisation and the strategic direction before deciding to approve the recommendations or return them to the relevant committees for further consideration or rejection The advlsory committees are made up as follows (as of 31st March 2024): Beef Advisory Committee Matthew Brownlee Arthur Callaghan Thomas Chambers Andrew Clarke John Egerton David Gibson Stephen Hennan Pat McKay Thomas Moorehead John Payne Albert Johnston William Sherrard Colin Smith Alan Turkingtom Vice Chairperson (Non-voting CAFRE liaison) Chairperson Dairy Advisory Committee Claire Beckett Phillip Donaldson Neville Graham Alan Irwin Ivor Lowry Robert Martin (Spa) Samantha Mccarroll Samuel McElheran Don Morrow John Oliver James Purcell Thomas Steele Gary Thompson Vice Chairperson (Non-voting CAFRE liaison) Chairperson Sheep Advisory Commlttee Alistair Armstrong Roger Bell Brian Cromie James Davison Clement Lynch Nigel McLaughlin Brendan Kelly Kenneth Linton Albert Johnston Colin Smith lan Walker Acting Chairperson (Non-voting CAFRE liaison)
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (¢ontInu) Year ended 31 March 2024 How decisions are made Decisions are taken by the Board of Trustees which meets at least five times a year. Meeting papers which include an agenda, minutes of the previous meeting. General Manager's report. financial slatemenls and details of any project proposals being considered for funding are circulated in advance of the meeting. Policies and rocedures for induction and trainin of trustees New Trustees are provided with information about the role and about the Council as part of an application 'pack'. Following sele¢tion, new Trustees have an induction briefing from the Chairman and General Manager which provides information and guidelines on their tasks and responsibilities together with an outline of the objectives of Agrisearch. They also receive copi8s of past Trustee minutes and other corporate documentation. Arran ements for settin and remuneration of ke mana ement A remuneration committee is appointed by the Trustees and meets on annual basis to consider the remuneration of key management. Its recommendations are submitted to the Trustees for approval. The remuneration committee is currently made up as follows: Norman Mcmordie (Chairperson) Crosby Cleland Jo-Anne Dobson A Disciplinary and Grievance Committee has also been established to review the employee handbook and if necessary act as an appeal panel for disciplinary and grievance issues. The Dis¢iplinary and Grievance Committee is currently made up as follows: lan M¢Cluggage Norman Mcmordie Alan Mccay The PhD Scholarship committee is currently made up as follows: Gerry Boyle Alan Mccay lan Mccluggage Relationshi s with related arties and other charitieslor ursuit of its charitable ob'ectives anisations with which it co-ordinates in the Two Tru51ees, one member of the AgriS8arch Sheep Advisory Committee. two members of the Agrisearch Dairy Advisory Committee and three members of the Agrisearch Beef Advisory Committee received payments during the financial year for activity undertaken as "farmer co-researchers" or "Beacon Farmers" these are detailed on pages 34 and 39 under 'Tru5tee Remuneration, and 'Related Party Transactions.. Famier ¢o-researchers are appointed on-merit in consultation with the relevant lead scientist. Beacon Farmers were appointed on merit by an an independent expert panel. Agrisearch has a conflict of interest policy and each Trustee and Advisory Committee member is asked to complete a declaration of interests. In addition, declaration of conflicts of interest is a standing item at the top of the agenda for every meeting of Trustees.
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (¢ontlnuad) Year ended 31 March 2024 Objectives and activities Charitable ob-ective The principal activily of the Council is to ¢ommission research and development in the agricultural industry. The Charity's objectives are to advance education, for the public benefit, in particular, by onducting and commissioning research into the improvement and development of sheep, beef and dairy farming and to disseminate and publish the useful results of such research and also to promote the improvement of animal health and welfare in sheep, bèef and dairy farming in Northern Ireland. Aims of chari Like all industries, the Northern Ireland ruminant livestock sector needs to constantly advance lo meet the challenges it faces. These inGlude competitiveness in an increasingly globalised market, meeting government and consumer expectations in the fields of animal health and welfare, reducing Ihe environmental impact of farming, delivery of ecosystem services and improving food quality and safety. Research and innovation have a major role to play in helping farmers to increas8 their socio-economic resilience. improve their environmental sustainability and enhance the health status of their herds and flocks. Pur ose: To make the Northern Ireland Ruminant Livestock Sector more competitive. profitable and sustainable. Vision- Agrisearch is committed to being an important driverof excellence and innovation in the Northem Ireland ruminant livestock sector, and being recognised as such by government and industry. Mission: To realise this vision. our mission is to drive profitability and sustainability. as a trusted, valued conduit of knowledge and innovation based on sound science and widely applied research. Values and Princi les- Our values and principles below will be prevalent in all of our activities and reflected in all of our work. Honesty and integrity Ethical leadership and good govemance - Accountability to farmers- levy payer led Consultation. engagement, and effective communication at all levels of government and the industry Collaboration and partnership across all our sectors Seeking value for money in all of our research and innovalion projects and programmes Advocating excellence in all research, science. and innovation activities In light of further signifiGant change within the agri-food sector and Agrisearch's operating environment, the Trustees instigated a strategy review process in February 2020. As part of this process the Trustees engaged extensively with farm6rs, processors. experts and other key stakeholders in the industry. The review highlighted the need to have a more targeted and focused programme of work. Sustainability was identified as the main challenge for the industry.
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report {Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnuèd) Year ended 31 March 2024 The three pillars of sustainability are: Peo le - Farming systems that offer a reasonable workllife balance and that protect farming's social license. Planet- Farming systems Ihat deliver ecosystem services (e.g. biodiversity and carbon sequestration) as well as minimising nutrient losses and carbon foot print. Profit - Farming systems are not sustainable unless they are profitable. A lack of profitability is a major challenge for many farms. particularly those in the beef and sheep sectors. In addition increased volatility in the price of milk. beef and lamb and fami inputs can also threaten the economic resilience and sustainability of farms. How achievement of aims furthers ob'ectives The charity is dependent on the goodwill of its levy funders. Given this, the Trustees have put in place a range of systems to try to ensure appropriate research projects are commissioned, that research findings are innovatively disseminated and that feedback and engagement are sought. Innovative research and development is a key slrategy within Government targets. Agrisearch is also committed to innovative research and development and aims to maximise its inlluence and impact. Agrisearch also seeks to collaborate with government and industry bodies within Northern Ireland and further afield. By doing so we can leverage our limited levyfunds to achieve a much greater impactthan by working alone. It is also the policy of the Trustees that the return on investment of the funds directed to research is analysed and measured lo ensure optimum value for money on behalf of the charity's funders. Increasingly, as research projects reach conclusion, greater emphasis is being placed on the dissemination of findings and the adoption by industry of Ihe key recommendations into every day working practice. Environmental and animal welfare considerations continue to be more significant factors in the sustainability of famiing and Agrisearch takes increasing notice of these. Strate ies for achievin aims and ob'ectives To build understanding of global advances in production systems, practices and techniques. through the funding of new researGh. the sharing of knowledge. and widespread innovation and development. To leverfunding and deliver programmes through collaborative research partnerships, actively seeking partners lo¢ally. nationally and internationally. and developing mutually beneficial relationships. To communicate more effectively and directly with farmers, in¢rease the number of farmers we reach and increase their active participation. To facilitate bottom-up. industry led priorities for research and innovation. based on need. To support the Nl science community, working to ensure the future Capacity and capability of Nl scientists and agrlculturalistS.
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Criteria or measures used to assess success Improvements in productivity and efficiency at farm level Improvements in systems. processes, and practices Increased profitability from farming ruminant livestock Redu¢ed carbon footprint per kg of milkj beefl lamb Reduced input, overhead, and energy costs per unit of output Increased or more productive use of land Strength of Agrisearch profile locally and internationally Level of industrylfarmer confidence in Agrisearch research models. methods, and outcomes Strong Collaborative relationships in government, in the agri-food industry. and in the sGientific and academic community Increase in effectiveness of communication Value for money and impact on farming (economic and environmental) Statement of com liance with Charit Commission uidance The Charity has paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake. nificant activities undertaken Main objectlves for the year and strategies for achieving them To further develop the Beacon Farm NeOrk including the holding of workshops for the participating farmers - To continue with the GrassChe¢k programme and expand the Grasscheck farm networks - To hold a Research and Innovation Needs Conference To continue to deliver our ZeroNsile project To contribute in the delivery of Dissemination events for Arczero To continue our involvement in Resilience for Dairy (R4D) Horizon 2020 Thematic network To deliver a series of workshops and webinars to disseminate findings from European Innovation Partnership projects To participate in the building of further eorkS and consorlia to pool resources, avoid the duplication of research and draw down external funding To continue our membership of and involvement in the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnuad) Year ended 31 March 2024 -To hold furiher Knowledge Exchange events in collaboration with AFBI and CAFRE To increase the reach of our knowledge exchange programme through further on-farm events, seminars and increasing traffic to the website and social media -To further develop our communications and knowledge exchange strategy - To engage with DAERA to ensure a high priority is given to research and knowledge exchange and ensure co-ordination of research and knowledge exchange activities and maximise synergies Grant-makin olic Investments in research programmes take into account value for money, affordability and the potential for the research to be adopted in practice on farms in Northern Ireland. Any resear¢h proposal must address are least one of the following key pillars: Sustainability I profitability - Environmental Impact - Animal WelfarelHealth Food quality I safety The Trustees also look for additional external funding in any research projects they approve. This is mainly obtained through the Department of Agriculture's Evidence and Innovation Strategy and Resear¢h Challenge Fund programmes and more recently the InvestNI funded Agri-Food Quest Competence Centre. AgriSearGh has also obtained funding from the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme. However, the opportunities for levering funding for research projects has greatly diminished in recent years. Thus Agrisearch is increasingly looking to undertake smaller scale farm- level initiatives which it can fund using its own resources. Use of volunteers The charity makes significant use of volunteers in the course of its work. In addition lo the Trustees, the members of the three sectoral advisory committees give freely of their time in attending and preparing for committee meetings as well as 5UPPOrting events run by Agrisearch. In addition, many of Agrisearch's research programmes are based on commercial Northern Ireland farms who only receive a small payment for the time they spend on these projects and who make their herds and flocks available for research as well as allowing access to farm records and hosting extension events on their farms. Strategic report The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review form the strategic report of the charity.
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report {Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnuèdj Year ended 31 March 2024 Achievements and performance Summa of main achievements Held our inaugural Research and Innovations needs Conference Established an Agrisearch PhD Scholarships Program and launched 3 PhD Scholarships Rumibaso Nl= Developing a unified database of the life cycle carbon inventory to encompass all Agrisearch ruminant platforms, as a foundation for a unified database to encompass all Nl ruminant farms GrazeGro Plus: Modelling the effects of climate change on sward productivity and resillience Modelling and Optimising on-farm renewable energy generation and consumption using artificial intelligence Farmers successfully established red clover on 11 participating farms in the ZeroNsile project Continued involvement in SUPER-G {a Horizon 2020 project} Commissioned and published a review of Nutrient Management Planning Tools Held 3 workshops and 3 webinars on European Innovation Partnership: Targeted Selective Treatment of Anthelmintics Multi-species Swards for Beef & Sheep Leatherjacket Mitigation Strategies - Led KE and Comms Activities for ARC Zero EIP operational group. Website continuously updated alongside use of social media. Led or were involved in 6 farm walks - Held 9 workshops for Advisory Committees, Beacon Farmers and Grasscheck farmers and others Delivered 4 webinars in partnership with UFU and AFBI titled 'S¢ien¢e the Delivers on Farm, Resilient Grassland Dairy Nulrition Nutrient Management in Grassland Carbon Benchmarking Continued work on "Resilience for Dairy" (R4D) a new Horizon 2020 Themati¢ Network - Took a stand at the RUAS Winter Fair Investment erformance a ainst ob'ectives Cash ftow and reallocation of funds beeen accounts has been managed to maximize the limited returns available on deposit accounts. The Davy managed portfolio has returned a good performance with a return of 8.9% this year. The St. James's Place managed portfolio has also returned good performance with a return of 10.6 % this year. The Trustees have reviewed the portfolio and returns and are satisfied with the management of risk and investment income. 10
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (¢ontlnuedJ Year ended 31 March 2024 Balanced icture of chari ro ress a ainst ob'ectives While Agrisearch has been successful at leveraging a significant amount of funding from government and other sources in the past. many funding streams which Agrisearch has availed of in the past are no longer open to new applications. Knowledge exchange is a key component of our work. Over the course of the year we have run or assisted in the running of22 successful knowledge exchange events. erformance indicators ex lainin out uts achieved b ob'ectives Given the straightforward nature of the business, the company's directors are of the opinion that analysis using KPI'S is not necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of the business. nificant ositive and ne ative factors that affected the achievement of ob'ectives and how future lans affected Given the relatively small amount of levy income the commissioning of research projects is dependent on the availability of leveraged funding. Funding competitions for such projects do not follow a regular cycle. In the last three years there have been fewer funding calls open and those that have been open have not aligned particularly well with the goals and aspirations of Agrisearch. As a result of this the Trustees instigated a major review of Agrisearch's strategy. Further to this they have engaged the services of Dr Sin¢lair Mayne as an Independent Scienlific Advisor to advise the Trustees and management. Agrisearch is now undertaking smaller scale farm-level initiatives which it can fund using its own resources. 11
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (oontlnu•d) Year ended 31 March 2024 Financial review Review of financial osition at the end of the re ortin eriod The statement of financial activities for the year is set out on page 22 of this report. The net movement in funds for the financial year is net income received of £366,083 (2023: net expenditure spent of - £630,831). During the financial year the Trustees commissioned funding for three PhD Scholarships totalling £360,000, letters of awards werè issues to Queen's and Ulster Universities but due to delays recruiting students the provision is not reflected in this year's accounts. One project (Digital Catapult Ten-Fold Net Zero Accelerator Nutrient Management Planning Tool Proof of Concept) was commissioned at a cost of £20.000 with a further £20,000 funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. When other sources of funding are added, the total expenditure on the related research and development since the formation of Agrisearch in 1997 is over £63m. with the input from Agrisearch amounting to £9.6M. nificant events that affected financial erformance and financial osition durin the eriod Events during the year did not give rise to any material financial impact. The Trustees monitor financial performance on a regular basis and take a low risk stance on finance. It is the Trustees. policy to achieve the best financial return on longer term funds with a prudent investing attitude whilst ensuring that sufficient funds are available to meet the operational expenditure of the organisation. Invested funds can be accessed at short notice. Financial risk is considered as part of the Trustees, ongoing assessment of its operating environment and a risk register is is maintained. The organisalion is largely dependent on a revenue stream from voluntary levies paid by farmers and agri-food processors. The risk to future financial performance based on this is regularly considered and assessed. Budgets are set for each financial year in light of this. Al the end of the financial year. there are no events or circumstances which would significantly impact the organisation's future financial performance. Investment policy and objectives The overall investment policy is low risk. During the 2023-24 financial year the majority of funds were held in deposits across a number of institutions as agreed by the Trustees. A portion of funds which are not required in the short term Gontinue to be invested within investment portfolios managed by Davy & St. James's Place. All funds are accessible al less than one week's notice. 12
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (Continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Financlal review (continued) Princi al sources of income and how ex enditure meets ob'ectives Principal funding sources are terms-of-trade levies collected on a voluntary basis by Northern Ireland processors of dairy, beef and sheep. Reserves olic includin amount of reserves and wh held restricted funds desi reserves a ainst reserves olic The Trustees have established a policy whereby the company's 'Free' reserves, being funds not ommitted to third parties for research should represent at least 12 months management and administration costs. At this level, the Trustees are of the view that the company would be able to continue ils activities in the event of a significant drop in funding. The level of reserves held at the year ended 31 March 2024 is £878,005. In addition. in order to ensure continuity of operations, further reserves are held for the ongoing commissioning of research. to ensure AgriSear¢h has the capacity to commission urgent research at short nolice to address any emerging critical issues that may arise. Agrisearch works with other stakeholders to ensure maximum leverage of fund5. Reserves held can vary depending on the timing of decisions made by co-funders. Reserves held can vary based on the expected or anlicipated timing of research funding calls and the time taken for co-funders to consider applications made under such calls. The Trustees considerthat the present level of reserves adequately meets these combined objectives. nated funds free Risk factors The Trustees are responsible for ensuring effective risk management, and that internal controls are in place to appropriately manage the risk exposure of Agrisearch. When reviewing risks the Board considers: the major risks to which Agrisearch is exposed., the potential impact and probability associated with each risk. existing internal controls and accountability for them: mitigating actions needed to reduce each risk to a level that the Trustees considered to be acceptable. The Trustees have drawn up a comprehensive and detailed risk register which is formally reviewed by the Trustees every year and is regularly monitored by the Office Bearers, Committee. The major financial risks are each subject to ongoing monitoring and management. Agrisearch investments are regularly reviewed by the Office Bearers. Income and cost control are subject to detailed review and challenge on at least a bimonthly basis. An annual budget for non-projeGt related expenditure for the forthcoming year is placed before the Trustees for approval before the start of each financial year. During the year a Financial Control Document was drawn up and adopted by the Trustees and is is kept under regular review. Agrisearch is reliant on the co-operation of dairy and red meat processors to collect producer levies on its behalf. 13
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report {Incorporating the Director's Report) (contInu) Year ended 31 March 2024 Financial review (continued) Plans for future perlods - To secure students for our PhD Scholarship Programme To work wilh academic and research partners to lever funding for projects to utilise the Beacon Farm network To continue our involvement in the Resilience for Dairy (R4D) Horizon 2020 Thematic network To participate in the building offurther networks and consortia to pool resourGes. avoid the duplication of research and draw down external funding To continue our membership of and involvement in the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock - To hold further knowledge exchange events in collaboration with AFBI and CAFRE To increase the reach of our knowledge exchange programme through further on-farm events, seminars and increasing traffic to the website and social media To further develop our communications and knowledge exchange strategy To engage with DAERA to ensure a high priority is given to research and knowledge transfer and ensure co-ordination of research and knowledge transfer activities and maximize synergies To review our current strategy and develop an operational plan for 2025-2030 Trustees. responsibilities statement The trustees. who are also directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure. for that period. 14
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) {wnllnued) Year ended 31 March 2024 In preparing these financial statements. the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently. observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP. make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent: state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed. subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements: prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume Ihat the charity will continue in business. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Auditor Each of the persons who is a trustee at the date of approval of this report Confirms that: so far as they are aware. there is no relevant audit infomiation of which the charity's auditor is unaware: and they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish thal the charity's auditor is aware of that information. The trustees. annual report and the strategic report were approved on 111h November 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by: Prof. Ge Trustee Id Eugene Boyl Mr lan Gardin Trustee M¢CIu Mr James Norman M¢Mordie Truste& 15