Over 100 farmers have turned out at Tullow Mart in protest against the CAP proposals announced on Wednesday by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

The Minister is hosting a CAP meeting at the mart this afternoon.

IFA president Tim Cullinan told the Irish Farmers Journal that the IFA is protesting, as the measures are "not good enough" for farmers.

"What we need is a package that's going to protect suckler farmers, sheep farmers and tillage farmers. But what's most important here is the productive sector. The productive sector has been left behind," he said.

The protest at Tullow is one of two taking place on Thursday. The second protest will be at Kilkenny Mart on Thursday evening, where the Minister will host a second CAP meeting. The IFA is threatening a third protest at Thurles on Friday evening.

'Significant change'

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue told the meeting in Tullow Mart that he knows it is a time of significant change, as there can be very significant change from one CAP programme to the next.

"The CAP funding is so central and so core to family farm income.

"I have engaged very deeply right across the country [with farmers]. There's many different views, many contrary positions that you will hear in marts across the country and I've taken that on board as we frame the CAP," he said.

Tim Cullinan told the Minister that there was a "hijacking of the suckler cow" in the CAP schemes announced on Wednesday.