Decoupling now gathering steam

By Matt Dempsey

This week Minister Joe Walsh finishes up his public consultation exercise on the way the decoupling measure should be introduced. Then he begins the consultation discussions with the farming social partners - IFA, ICMSA, Macra na Feirme and ICOS.

Judging from our survey - which we detail on pages front and back - farmers' views are crystal clear. There is an overwhelming majority of farmers in favour of total decoupling.

Now that the EU has given this flexibility it is clear that farmers want to maintain maximum flexibility within their own farms and farm as best fits their circumstances.

It's early days yet but already planning intentions are becoming clear. An extraordinary 35% of those in dairying plan to quit the sector before 2007, when the premium entitlements are fixed. A sizeable majority want ring-fencing abolished but significant numbers want it retained. Most of those staying in dairying intend to expand. There is logic and a sense of reality in these attitudes.

For those in beef production the numbers wishing for complete decoupling are again overwhelming - no matter what type of beef production they are in - suckling to weanling or store to finish. There had been a view that sucklers might be generally in favour of seeing at least the slaughter premium remain coupled, but Commissioner Fischler's contention at the Goffs Journal conference that the type of regime operated in Ireland would have no influence on Italian or Spanish feeders qualifying for the slaughter premium in their own country has put minds at rest. Decoupling the slaughter premium would maximise the inflow of funds into the country.

What is noteworthy on the suckler side is the intention of many suckler farmers, who are producing weanlings to expand output - less but only slightly less than the numbers intending to reduce numbers.

While for those in suckling to beef the numbers intending to expand output is double the numbers who intend to cut back. Obviously these intentions are based on the likely future as we see it this year.

At the moment there are good weanling prices and increasing numbers of factories willing to talk about contracts for specific qualities of animals. Coupled with these market possibilities decoupling carries with it the prospect of the abolition of both irksome bureaucracy and the absurdity of the dry heifer type of rule. Our central reservations about the long-term sustainability of the single farm payment system remain.

While there is a commitment to it until 2013, political commitments to farmers can come unstuck. Nevertheless, the budget is there and allocated for the foreseeable future.

The coming in of the east European countries should help to safeguard the allocation. But we are seeing a totally new farming policy emerge.

It's clear from even such a limited survey as this that the changes will be fundamental and real. It's not surprising that farmers want to respond as they individually see fit, rather than have production obligations imposed on them.