Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has dismissed the prospect of a beef reduction scheme for farmers.

Speaking at the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) climate summit in Thomond Park, Limerick, on Tuesday, Minister McConalogue told more than 350 farmers: “I have carefully read the recommendations in the dairy and beef Food Vision reports.

“With regard to the beef sector, both the farm organisations and the processors are in agreement that they do not want a beef reduction scheme, so that is something that is off the table.”

The Minister said he would instead step out many of the other recommendations as quickly as possible.

Minister McConalogue, questioned by Irish Farmers Journal interim editor Jack Kennedy, said that there had been support for a reduction scheme on the dairy side, so he would “engage further” with the Food Vision dairy group.

However, the response from farm organisations and meat processors on a potential suckler reduction or cull scheme had been negative, so the Minister said: “I’ve taken that on board.”

Sustainable practices

He said that the CAP strategic plan would help farmers to transition to more sustainable practices while supporting farm incomes, with a budget of €9.8bn.

Minister McConalogue said “record funding” had been provided, including €1.5bn for the new agri-environment scheme ACRES, which has seen over 46,000 applications, a 500% increase in funding for organics, and €260m to improve the carbon efficiency of the suckler herd through genetic improvement.

Minister McConalogue did not make any reference to whether the 16,000 farmers who are potentially without a place in ACRES will be accommodated in the scheme.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has indicated that these farmers will be given “gap payments” in 2023.

Minister McConalogue paid tribute to farming as “a profession of bravery”.

Farmers make brave decisions and then hope for all the factors to fall into place

“Our livestock farmers make breeding decisions today that won’t become production animals for two years and our tillage farmers will plant crops that won’t be harvested for five months - not taking into account weather and other factors that come into play,” he said.

“Farmers make brave decisions and then hope for all the factors to fall into place to ensure they can continue to operate effectively,” he said.

He said Ireland is one of many countries grappling with how to marry the multiple objectives of agriculture: food security, economic development, protecting ecosystems and enhancing resilience to climate change.

“The agricultural juggernauts of New Zealand and the Netherlands are grappling with how they reduce agricultural emissions and they are planning, in some cases, more draconian measures than Ireland,” he said.

“We are working together, in partnership with farm families, to deliver a roadmap that will work for everyone.”

Future challenge

On the future challenge of climate change, the Minister said “while we face a decade of change, change need not be scary.

“We will continue to be a world-class producer of animal-based proteins for 10, 20 or even 30 years. This will also be backed by our excellent tillage sector.”

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