Last week’s meeting of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) national hill farming committee saw members express concerns at the lack of urgency shown by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue in the implementation of a firm plan to address concerns surrounding the looming food security issues.

“Hill farmers who carry stock for the winter urgently need support as the exponential rise in costs is further eroding already low margins,” IFA hill farming chair Cáilin Conneely said.

He acknowledged the €55m silage support package, but says this is not enough given the scale of the challenge at hand.

Increased costs

“Beef and sheep farmers who carry stock have increased costs imposed on them due to the escalation of input prices, particularly fertiliser, feed and fuel.

"To ensure hill farmers can afford to continue to feed their animals for the winter of 2022, all beef and sheep farmers must receive extra financial support in the form of a per-head payment, in addition to existing payments.”

Conneely added that all land must be utilised to produce food.

“Any restrictions, such as those currently imposed on traditional hay meadow and low input grasslands, must be addressed to ensure that farmers are facilitated in using all lands at their disposal to produce food,” he finished.