DEAR EDITOR

Harvest 2026 is only a few weeks away and sizable amounts of last harvest grain are unsold or sold and not shifting, still in farmers’ and merchants’ stores.

Very little movement of native grain is taking place and buyers are just not interested. Why would they when brokers can supply them from the cheapest production countries in the world.

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Nobody can dispute the massive lower standards involved here and the omission of GMO imports from food labels tells a serious story.

The tillage sector is in crisis at present with out of control costs hitting every aspect of production. We have reached the point that crops on rental/leased land are loss-making and own land just about breakeven if the crop yields well. Teagasc figures support this observation.

So the solution proposed by the Department, Bord Bia, IFA and TII is that along with complying with the never-ending stream of EU rules, Department and county council audits and inspections that we have at present, our growers now surrender to completing AgNav to prove our carbon footprint and then submit to a comprehensive and expensive Bord Bia audit to verify our crop provenance.

Growers need more of these audits like a hole in the head.

The sector is under financial pressure and the solution from the suits in authorities and farm organisations is more costs heaped onto hard pressed growers.

The reward is we can look forward to 15/20% minimum inclusion in livestock rations and we are supposed to be impressed with this rescue package.

What they don’t say is that the other 80-odd % going into the same ration does not have to comply with any EU production rules, no audits, no inspections, rainforest destruction, use chemicals that the EU banned on serious health concerns, burn peatland for cultivation, absolutely no traceability, no expensive machinery emission controls, use of GMO technology and have a carbon footprint many times that of native.

There is no denying this is a double standard in the extreme and no reasonable, fair-minded person would attempt to dispute that fact. Irish grain is not the problem here but maybe the silence about what is actually in the imported competition is the big problem. If it was a good news story there would be no need to hide it from the consumers.

Telling them it’s grass-fed is just not good enough anymore as the truth will come out eventually. Meanwhile, we as growers are expected to say “Ba Ba Ba” like lambs to the slaughter. Ask the question – would any other business welcome such double standards in their market competition and not many will respond yes.