ANC campaign

The IFA is stepping up its campaign on ANCs with a series of regional meetings, the first of which takes place on Thursday 2 February at the Errigal Hotel, Cootehill, Co Cavan. Further meetings are planned in Mayo on 6 February, Fermoy on 24 February and Carlow on 3 March. Find full details at www.ifa.ie and go along to one of the meetings to get involved in the campaign to protect and improve ANCs.

RDP amendments

Last week’s formal approval by the European Commission for the 2016 amendments to Ireland’s RDP must be followed by proposals for 2017 to ensure that the full allocation of €4bn for the RDP will be fully utilised, rural development chair Joe Brady has said. The slow speed in starting some schemes and delays in payments mean there is a significant underspend and the IFA is seeking increased allocation for ANCs.

Low-cost loans

IFA farm business chair Martin Stapleton has welcomed the delivery of the low-cost cashflow loans, saying the IFA campaigned strongly throughout 2016 for lower-cost credit to be made available to the farming sector. Strong demand is expected and farmers are encouraged to look at the overall structure of their financing arrangements and to apply if appropriate for their farm enterprise needs.

Forestry set aside

IFA forestry chair Pat Collins has insisted that farmers must be paid on all land they are obligated to set aside under the afforestation scheme. The new environmental requirements increase the areas of biodiversity enhancement (ABE) on certain sites beyond the eligible 15% that can be claimed under the Afforestation and Woodland Creation Scheme.