Westmeath sheep, suckler and beef farmer Seán McNamara was elected to serve a second term as president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) last Wednesday.

McNamara begins a two-year term at the helm of the drystock farmers’ association having served as its president since February 2024.

Some 75 members of the ICSA national executive voted in the election held in Portlaoise which yielded 41 votes in favour of McNamara and 34 for the current chair of Westmeath ICSA Dan Lynam, who also contested the position.

Speaking to the executive before votes were cast, McNamara stated that blocking the ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade deal would be among his key priorities.

He pledged to guide the association in lobbying the next Government to oppose the deal and warned that if the deal came to pass, Irish beef prices would fall to “€3.50/kg or €3.60/kg”.

“If it passes, there won’t be any suckler farmers, there won’t be any sheep farmers.

“We’ll have a desert around Ireland and next place you’ll be able to see cattle is above in Dublin Zoo,” McNamara told members.

“The main thing we have to do is get this Mercosur blocked. It doesn’t matter what we’ll have to do, we’ll just have to do it.”

McNamara suggested that there was not much hope to be gleamed from the recently-announced “special mission” the European Commission plans to send to Ireland to hear Irish farming organisations’ concerns on the deal early next year.

Lobbying

“You might as well be talking to the wall as taking to them. The only reaction they will make is if we go up and meet them at the door and lobby hard to stop it.”

On suckler supports, McNamara said he will lobby Government for €350/suckler cow and an end to the “joke” of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Bord Bia’s involvement in Department of Agriculture support schemes.

“There are two things I am going to look for as well – that the ICBF is not involved and neither is Bord Bia, that it is a straightforward scheme.

“This thing of getting the ICBF and Bord Bia involved is totally ridiculous and it makes no odds to farmers buying the weanlings.

“We are down 50,000 suckler cows this year but we will be 100,000 down next year and all we will be left with is these farts of calves as I call them.

“Little half-Jerseys, half-Friesians and that is all the factories want,” he claimed.

His criticism of schemes extended to paperwork attached to them, singling out the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) as one programme where he sees the cost of advisers and putting measures in place leaving little payments left over for the participating farmer.

“The issue of scheme red tape - we spend that much time at paperwork, we don’t know which way to look. This has to stop.

“And with ACRES, you might be getting five, six seven thousand but when you have all paid, there’s nothing left out of the scheme for yourself, maybe €1,000 – that’s €20/week and you wouldn’t give it to a child for pocket money,” he added.