The decision by the SDLP, announced at their agri-food conference last Thursday, to favour a single-region model and a four-year transition to flat-rate payments under CAP reform has drawn contrasting reactions from farming organisations.

The Ulster Farmers Union was quick off the mark last Friday, with a statement from president Harry Sinclair describing the SDLP position as ‘unbelievable’. He said it demonstrated that the SDLP understand very little about what farmers actually need.

“We had hoped and expected that our politicians would have supported NI’s agri-food industry to develop and grow so that we could compete on the new and emerging world markets and generate revenue from exports, which would help the local economy. Instead, we have one of our main political parties clearly showing that they are not up to the task,” said Sinclair.

However, the SDLP position has been backed by Oisin Murnion, the chairman of the National Beef Association (NBA) in NI. He said it represented a sensible, measured approach to the issues surrounding future direct payments. Previously Murnion had stated the NBA’s position as supporting a single-region model and the five-year transition to flat-rate payments.

Spokesperson

Announcing the SDLP position last week, their agriculture spokesperson Joe Byrne said the party had consulted widely and met various groups before deciding on a position.

“We believe a single-region approach, and a four-year transition will help sustain family-based farming into the future,” said Byrne. However, he was strong in his opposition to an immediate flat-rate in 2015, put forward as a ‘preferred option’ by some Sinn Fein politicians.

“That would be catastrophic. Four years allows practicalities to be sorted out, such as banking arrangements which can’t change immediately. I would urge Minister Michelle O’Neill and DARD to reach a conclusion. The sooner this happens the better,” said Byrne.

Also speaking at the SDLP conference was William Taylor from Farmers For Action in NI, who said that his organisation supported a single-region model and a maximum three-year transition to flat-rate payments.

“People need time to adjust, but a lot of farmers got a raw deal the last time around,” said Taylor. However, he added that such a CAP model must be backed up by legislation based on costs of production plus margin inflation. In a press statement released this week, following a meeting with DARD Minister Michelle O’Neill, Farmers For Action also suggested that the three hectare minimum claim size in 2015 (announced by DARD last week) should be reduced to one hectare.

Banks

Meanwhile, a joint statement from the main banks is expected to be released in the coming days, setting out support for the 10-year transition period to flat-rate payments, as originally proposed by DARD.

With many farmers reliant on CAP payments to clear overdrafts at the end of the year and also help cover the cost of recent investment and expansion, sources in the banks maintain that farmers must be given as long a period as possible to adjust to CAP changes.

Meeting on farm price legislation

Members of Farmers For Action (FFA), along with representatives from the NBA, SDA Group, NIAPA and local marts, have met Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill to press their case for farm gate pricing legislation. The issues discussed included the NI Executive’s powers to implement legislation and details of an independent body willing to update the farm gate cost of production on behalf of the Government and farmers.

During the meeting the case was put to the Minister that the proposed legislation on farm gate prices was the missing link in the growth plans of the Agri Food Strategy Board.

Speaking after the meeting, Sean McAuley from FFA said it was a huge leap forward to see support for the legislation coming from so many other stakeholders.

March milk prices unchanged

Most of the main buyers of milk in Northern Ireland have declared unchanged base prices for March. Prices in Britain are similar, despite production levels running around 12% ahead of this time last year and the surplus ‘spot milk’ selling at around 23p/litre. The trend is for some weakening of prices in months ahead. This week’s Global Dairy Trade auction has fallen by around 20% since mid-February (see report on page three).