Farm incomes are top of the agenda in the first meeting between IFA president Joe Healy and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan in Brussels today.

Healy will ask the Commissioner to ease the cashflow stresses on dairy farms, including superlevy deductions from this month’s milk cheque and merchant credit debt in all sectors.

“The exceptional state aid measures allowing for the provision of short-term loans were voted on by the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers on 14 March – over two months ago.

“Those dairy farmers who have invested in recent years, who just saw the first instalment of their superlevy repayment 2016 leave their milk account, and carry some merchant credit or other bills, will be in even deeper financial trouble,” he said in advance of the meeting.

He will demand an advance of 70% on the basic payment in October, action to rebalance the retail chain, exclusion of beef from Mercosur negotiations and abolition of fertiliser import tarriffs.