Dairy farmers will be “ruined” by the Department of Agriculture’s nitrates banding, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has said.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to suspend the introduction of the banding for this year and warned that it is an “absolutely brutal and unjustified attack on family dairy farms”.
“It’s worth remembering that this is going to be the first time since 1983 that dairy farmers will be forced to cut back production - many of the technically best dairy farmers in the world and who pose absolutely no risk to water quality,” he said.
Proposals
Without a suspension and to mitigate the impact on farmers, McCormack also said that his association has proposed alternative measures for the nitrates banding to Minister McConalogue.
“On the basis of trying to bring forward solutions to the problems caused by others, [the] ICMSA is asking the Minister and his officials to exclude calves under 60 days from the farm’s nitrates calculation.
“Calves of that age produce infinitesimal nitrogen (N) and so the 24kg of N from zero to six months should be reduced accordingly. That change would also have animal welfare benefits,” he said.
Protein nut
The ICMSA president also suggested that where a farmer uses a low-protein nut, they should get a credit for this under their N calculation.
“The science is stating that for every 1% reduction in protein, it is equivalent to 1kg of N per cow.
“So, if a farmer uses a 12% protein nut during the summer period and is in band two, then they should be allowed to use 88kg of N per cow instead of 92kg of N per cow.
"Such a move would also incentivise farmers to use a lower protein nut at times when it is appropriate to do so,” he added.
The Tipperary farmer said that looking at these two options from the ICMSA would be the “very least” the Minister could do to “offset the most egregious damage done by this unfair and unworkable [nitrates banding] measure”.
