A top-up payment should be available to all young beef farmers under the age of 40 from the €100m Brexit beef fund announced two weeks ago, Macra na Feirme’s new president Thomas Duffy has said.
“Ensuring the survival of the beef sector by preventing the loss of young beef farmers is something which stretches far beyond Brexit,” Duffy said.
Macra did not specify how much of the fund should go towards the top-up.
Young farmers starting out or entering family arrangements have been left even more exposed in the sector, Duffy said.
Challenges
“The challenges of lack of availability of land, continued high rental prices and lack of credit combined with the historical reference payment system of subsidies has left many young beef farmers in an even more difficult position.
“The past year has been an incredible difficult time for all farmers, from those struggling to recover from last year’s drought to those suffering lower returns from the market due in part to Brexit uncertainty.
“This announcement goes some way to helping farmers deal with these difficult situations. However, how it is distributed to farmers to ensure the fairest and most widespread benefit to all family farms in the beef sector is the most important question,” Duffy said.
Suckler farmers
Macra believes that the mechanism for distribution should not disregard any section of the beef sector and ensure that suckler farmers, those practising calf to beef including dairy calves and finishers, are properly compensated for the losses incurred.
It would be neither fair nor beneficial for the beef sector to have an oversimplified payment system which does not fairly treat all vital links in the beef supply chair provided by family farms, Macra said.
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A top-up payment should be available to all young beef farmers under the age of 40 from the €100m Brexit beef fund announced two weeks ago, Macra na Feirme’s new president Thomas Duffy has said.
“Ensuring the survival of the beef sector by preventing the loss of young beef farmers is something which stretches far beyond Brexit,” Duffy said.
Macra did not specify how much of the fund should go towards the top-up.
Young farmers starting out or entering family arrangements have been left even more exposed in the sector, Duffy said.
Challenges
“The challenges of lack of availability of land, continued high rental prices and lack of credit combined with the historical reference payment system of subsidies has left many young beef farmers in an even more difficult position.
“The past year has been an incredible difficult time for all farmers, from those struggling to recover from last year’s drought to those suffering lower returns from the market due in part to Brexit uncertainty.
“This announcement goes some way to helping farmers deal with these difficult situations. However, how it is distributed to farmers to ensure the fairest and most widespread benefit to all family farms in the beef sector is the most important question,” Duffy said.
Suckler farmers
Macra believes that the mechanism for distribution should not disregard any section of the beef sector and ensure that suckler farmers, those practising calf to beef including dairy calves and finishers, are properly compensated for the losses incurred.
It would be neither fair nor beneficial for the beef sector to have an oversimplified payment system which does not fairly treat all vital links in the beef supply chair provided by family farms, Macra said.
Read more
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