''The proposal to make 2014 a reference year is nonsensical and goes against active farmers,'' said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

''There would be huge disruption to the land rental market in the run up to the any future reference year,'' he asserted.

Talking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the Ploughing Championships, Minister Coveney said he is opposed to the 2014 reference period and is ''hopeful'' that it can be changed prior to the publication of the EU Commission's formal CAP post-2013 proposals on 13 October.

Commercial farmers were up in arms at the Ploughing over proposals to make 2014 a reference year under the leaked CAP proposals.

The Department of Agriculture's stand was inundated with farmers who have expanded their business through renting land.

Stories were circulating of landowners looking to take land back from agreed leases to establish their own entitlements.

Over 800,000 hectares of land are rented annually by 43,000 farmers.

The Minister said he has talked directly to the EU Commission and is hopeful that changes can be made before the document is released in October.

''We have also been lobbying other countries who are starting to realise the effect it will have on their agricultural industry,'' said Minister Coveney.

The Minister would not be drawn on which year the Department would like to see a re-referencing occur, but 2011 would seem the obvious year as it would cause the least disruption to the land rental market.

Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesman on agriculture, Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill said that the 2014 reference year ''has the potential to provoke a land grab over the next three years''. He also opposed the Commission proposal that 5% of a farmer's income must come from ''farming activity'' excluding direct payments, to be eligible for direct payments

Dilution

It has emerged that 500,000 eligible hectares of land had no entitlements attached to them in 2011.

Of these, 370,000 hectares are with farmers who have some entitlements but 130,000 hectares are held by people with no entitlements at all. This land represents about 10% of all eligible land, and will lead to a significant dilution of the average payment per hectare if re-referencing occurs.

IFA president John Bryan has left the Ploughing to meet senior EU Commission officials in Brussels today (Thursday) and Friday.

He re-iterated IFA's utter opposition to a future reference period, and said that there must be flexibility for Ireland in relation to any flat-rate payment proposals.

Bryan said 95% of the thousands of farmers visiting the IFA stand at the Ploughing were clear in their view that a flat rate per-hectare payment is a non-runner.

The majority of active, productive farmers would lose under a flat payment, he said. ''The Commission's proposals on greening are excessive and extremely rigid''.