After weeks of confusion over area availability, the Department of Agriculture has told the Irish Farmers Journal that applications for the Fodder Transport Support Measure are currently being accepted from Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Cavan, Galway, Mayo and west Clare.
“The recent decision to open Cavan, Longford and Roscommon to the scheme was based on fodder budgets that showed a deficit in the area,” Teagasc regional adviser Con Feighery said.
“I understand that there’s a promise from the Department to review the situation in Monaghan if fodder budgets show a deficit.”
Last December, a Teagasc survey of more than 400 fodder budgets stated that 85% of farmers were experiencing fodder issues in the northwest region and had, on average, less than half of the fodder they needed for the winter.
However, co-ops have reported an extremely low uptake of the scheme, with Aurivo completing three orders and Arrabawn completing one, while Lakeland has not had any orders.
“For that one application there’s at least nine pages of paperwork, which puts people off,” a spokesperson for Arrabawn said.
“A farmer pays for the fodder and the haulage, and then we pay the supplier and the haulier, and issue the farmer with an invoice so he can claim back the subsidy off the Department.
“There’s no VAT on the fodder but there’s VAT on the haulage. While we’re happy to facilitate this, we couldn’t supply blanket credit for everyone.”
A survey of fodder dealers this week showed that the average price being asked for a bale of silage, excluding delivery, was €30/bale. Merchants report that a large amount of fodder stocks had been purchased before the fodder scheme was announced at the end of January.
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Confusion over fodder scheme
After weeks of confusion over area availability, the Department of Agriculture has told the Irish Farmers Journal that applications for the Fodder Transport Support Measure are currently being accepted from Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Cavan, Galway, Mayo and west Clare.
“The recent decision to open Cavan, Longford and Roscommon to the scheme was based on fodder budgets that showed a deficit in the area,” Teagasc regional adviser Con Feighery said.
“I understand that there’s a promise from the Department to review the situation in Monaghan if fodder budgets show a deficit.”
Last December, a Teagasc survey of more than 400 fodder budgets stated that 85% of farmers were experiencing fodder issues in the northwest region and had, on average, less than half of the fodder they needed for the winter.
However, co-ops have reported an extremely low uptake of the scheme, with Aurivo completing three orders and Arrabawn completing one, while Lakeland has not had any orders.
“For that one application there’s at least nine pages of paperwork, which puts people off,” a spokesperson for Arrabawn said.
“A farmer pays for the fodder and the haulage, and then we pay the supplier and the haulier, and issue the farmer with an invoice so he can claim back the subsidy off the Department.
“There’s no VAT on the fodder but there’s VAT on the haulage. While we’re happy to facilitate this, we couldn’t supply blanket credit for everyone.”
A survey of fodder dealers this week showed that the average price being asked for a bale of silage, excluding delivery, was €30/bale. Merchants report that a large amount of fodder stocks had been purchased before the fodder scheme was announced at the end of January.
Read more
Fodder swap for festival tickets
Confusion over fodder scheme
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