Four local farmers are due in front of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development at Stormont today (Thursday) to update members on the worsening financial situation on many farms in NI.

The impromptu meeting was requested during summer recess by committee members Jo-Anne Dobson and Edwin Poots following a meeting of over 50 dairy farmers at the farm of Jonathan Matthews near Donaghcloney, Co Down, on Monday 27 July. Both MLAs were present at the meeting, as well as Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson.

Matthews will be joined at the committee meeting by three other local farmers: James Stewart, Banbridge; Charlie Weir, Waringstown; and Kyle Savage, Donaghcloney. They will brief members on how farmers are struggling due to poor prices and give recommendations for action. Also due in front of the committee to give their view are the Ulster Farmers’ Union, Dairy UK and Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill.

Support

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal ahead of the meeting, Matthews said that he wants the agriculture committee to again put the case to the UK government and the European Commission to support farmers, primarily through lifting the intervention price for milk.

He said that recently published figures by farming consultants Promar International suggest that the average breakeven UK milk price is 30p/ litre.

“It is a long way off the 19p/litre that I am being paid. Although every farm is in a different economic situation, there is no one that can produce milk at these prices. There are also predictions that this could drop further if action is not taken,” he said.

Matthews insisted that reducing production costs could only be done to a certain point until the sustainability of the farm is compromised by not producing enough milk in the long term.

He maintained that the group would represent all sectors and drew attention to the poor prices being received for nearly all NI farm commodities, in particular lamb.

All farmers are invited to come along to Stormont at 1pm as a show of support and to press the Government to take action on the issues facing the wider industry.

Protests in England

Meanwhile, in Britain, Farmers For Action (FFA) chair David Handley has asked farmers to be patient with farm organisations in their negotiations with government and retailers to achieve a better farmgate price for milk.

He condemned a roadblock protest using tractors on a dual carriageway in Staffordshire by 40 farmers last week and stated that the general public should not be brought into the argument. The action by the farmers may have been inspired by recent farmers’ protests in cities in France. The result of those protests has been a €600m support package from the French government in the form of extra finance and tax breaks for farmers.

Lamb

Meanwhile, a campaign on social media under the heading ‘‘#NoLambWeek’’, urging farmers not to supply lambs to processors between 1 and 7 August, seems to be gathering significant momentum in Britain.

Organisers are keen to highlight the extent to which farmer margins are being squeezed, while prices remain high in the supermarkets and there is a lack of promotion of British lamb. The latest figures suggest that farmers only receive 50% of the final retail price for both beef and lamb.

Buy local grain

Livestock farmers are encouraged to do business with local cereal farmers this harvest by Allan Chambers, chair of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) cereals committee. Chambers said that it made economical sense for neighbouring livestock and arable farmers to trade, especially at a time when most sectors in the NI agriculture industry are under pressure.

“Local grain traded between farmers offers good value for money. It cuts out unnecessary haulage costs and often makes a higher quality ration than some imported by-products,” he said.

Farm safety

Leaflets detailing emergency contact details are being distributed to 28,000 farm families across NI by DARD.

Compiled by the Farm Safety Partnership, the leaflet includes details for agencies that can be contacted in the event of a farm accident, including PSNI, NI Fire and Rescue Service and the DARD helpline.

UFU president Ian Marshall said: ‘‘One of the best ways to handle an emergency is to be prepared with an emergency phone list.”

Focus on sucklers

The farm of Declan Rafferty and Aidan Quinn, 110 Limehill Rd, Pomeroy, BT70 2RY, is to host a farm walk open to all visitors on Thursday 13 August. There is a choice of two tours of the farm, one starting at 2pm and the other starting at 6pm.

Declan and Aidan are members of the NI suckler beef programme, a joint initiative between the Irish Farmers Journal, CAFRE and ABP. The 53ha farm supports 62 spring- and 19 autumn-calving cows, with plans to increase the herd to 100 cows in the coming years. Most of the herd are bred to Simmental and Limousin bulls.

During the tour, there will be a number of stops focusing on suckler cow fertility, sire and replacement heifer selection, animal health, grassland management and sward improvement.

Everyone is welcome.