In two weeks’ time, on 11 October, Finance Minister Michael Noonan will deliver Budget 2017. Various groups and organisations are currently lobbing the Government to include a range of measures from their wish list.

What are farmers and their representative organisations lobbing for? Various issues from GLAS funding to changes in the tax system and a restoration of the ANC (Disadvantages Areas) payment to previous levels are being sought.

In the programme for Government, additional funding is promised to Areas of Natural Constraint in Budget 2018. Given the hardship farmers in the west are suffering due to the heavy rainfall this year, bringing this increase in funding forward by 12 months would be particularly welcome.

Under-spending

One area of the Department Agriculture’s budget that is of concern to me this year, however, is the projected under-spend through various schemes. These schemes have been under-subscribed by farmers, I believe, because of increased terms and conditions over previously very successful schemes.

The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) has a budget of €300m over six years. The Department of Agriculture had originally targeted 35,000 farmers to sign up. Somewhere around 28,000 farmers remain in the scheme and my hope is that if there is an under-spend on this scheme, this under-spend is targeted at those farmers who signed up from the beginning.

Similarly, the new Knowledge Transfer Programme, which is just starting off, has funding of €100m allocated to the scheme. A target of 27,000 farmers was aimed for. However about 20,000 farmers have so far signed up.

GLAS is another scheme which I hope is opened up again shortly in order that the maximum number of farmers can apply to join.

The most important thing for farm lobby groups to ensure is that under-spend on any scheme is not lost back to the general exchequer and remains targeted at farmers to improve their overall incomes.

Grassland improvement scheme

Separately, the EU has approved an aid package for dairy and livestock sectors. This funding comes to €11.1m, which can be matched by the Irish Government. One of the more interesting proposals I read in relation to this funding was from Macra na Feirme. The youth organisation proposed that the funding be used towards a grassland improvement scheme.

Now there’s an idea. Rather than handing out a flat-rate payment, this funding could be targeted at soil sampling, liming, soil fertility improvement and reseeding, all of which would deliver long-term financial benefits to farmers far above the original funding received.

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