The IFA announced this Wednesday that following a meeting of its grain committees it would occupy the Kildare St office until it obtained an urgent meeting with Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

The protest targets the proposed tillage crisis fund for farmers who lost crops to bad weather during last year's harvest.

Listen to the protesting farmers in our podcast below:

Listen to "IFA tillage protest at Department of Agriculture" on Spreaker.

Although the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has approved funds for the scheme, it remains unclear how much each of the 200 to 300 affected farmers will be able to claim.

The details are totally unacceptable to the grain committee, as the scheme appears to be too narrow and restrictive

Media reports have emerged that the scheme would include a €5,000 ceiling per applicant – drastically lower than the €15,000 sought. There could also be a limit of €200/ha and aid for no more than 25ha per farmer, the reports suggested. On Wednesday, a Department spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that the reported details were in line with the scheme it has now drawn up.

“The details are totally unacceptable to the grain committee, as the scheme appears to be too narrow and restrictive," said IFA grain chair Liam Dunne. "The reported budget may not be sufficient to cover the full extent of the losses incurred by farmers. Those farmers who are most affected must receive the most from the scheme."

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal that it was happy to facilitate a meeting with the IFA delegation as soon as possible. "Notwithstanding approval by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the outline of a crop loss compensation scheme, the final terms and conditions and application process for such a scheme are yet to be finalised and published by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine," the spokesperson added.

Read more

Full coverage: tillage crisis fund