Mercosur halt

IFA president Joe Healy has said European Commission president Jean-Claude Junker and European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan must deliver on their commitment to put Ireland first in Brexit, and ensure that there is no Mercosur deal on beef while Brexit remains unsorted. Increasing EU beef imports makes no sense, he said.

CAP campaign

The IFA CAP project team was in Brussels last week meeting with DG Agri and European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan’s cabinet as part of our campaign on CAP. The IFA will meet TDs and MEPs in the coming weeks to insist that the CAP budget for Ireland is increased to cover the cost of inflation and to pay for additional requirements placed on farmers. See www.ifa.ie/cap2020

Milk price indicators

Improvement in all international dairy market indicators makes price increases imperative, dairy chair Tom Phelan has said. Increases are also necessary as this is the time of year farmers use the peak milk cheques to clear financial commitments. After a tough spring, milk receipts are being squeezed and costs are rising.