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The €100m Brexit beef fund is "badly wanted" for farmers, particularly to cover extreme losses that farmers would have suffered in finishing cattle since last September, Francie Gorman of Laois IFA told the Irish Farmers Journal.
He said farmers who finish prime cattle should be the main beneficiaries of the fund. He said dairy farmers shouldn’t be able to avail of the fund.
Retrospective compensation
Anne Baker, chair of north Cork IFA, told the Irish Farmers Journal that the €100m is to be used as retrospective compensation for incurred losses that people would have endured over the last six to seven months.
“It’s a welcome boost for beef farmers after a particularly difficult end of year.
“The ideal scenario is that anyone who finished cattle in the last six to seven months would be entitled to the compensation fund. When I say finished cattle I mean prime beef cattle,” she said.
Farmers on the ground need it
Brendan Golden of Mayo IFA said that farmers on the ground really need the €100m.
“Down our end of the country it’s crucial that we have them down in Mayo and Galway around the ring next October. The suckler man took a hit last autumn and the suckler herd needs strong support or else those people won’t be there,” Golden said.
Listen to what Golden had to say on the €100m fund and the Green Party vote in the recent elections:
Green trickle
On the €100m fund, Willie Hanrahan Clare IFA chair said that the IFA put together a proposal on the losses to the beef industry and his opinion is that the prime beef animal should get priority in the fund.
On the increased Green Party vote in the local elections, Hanrahan said that the green tide at the start of counting in the elections turned out to be a green trickle.
“Farmers are not one bit afraid of the green vote, we want to work the greens at all times, we want to farm in a sustainable manner and we will continue to do that,” he said.
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