A pilot tillage Sustainability Assurance Scheme, expected to be rolled out later this year, aims to give the market a reason to pay a premium for Irish grain.

This is according to Bord Bia’s David Kennedy, who spoke at the recent Dairygold tillage conference and explained that the scheme is designed to give farmers credit for what they are already doing.

The pilot scheme, announced in December, is aligned with Origin Green and has been launched by the Department of Agriculture, which is collaborating with Bord Bia, the Malting Company of Ireland (MCI) and the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme (IGAS) on the initiative.

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Kennedy explained that the idea is to record what a lot of people are doing right now and to do it over time, so it can be reported back to customers so they can deliver premiums.

Bord Bia’s role is to verify and validate what is already happening.

He stressed that the approach is supportive, “we’re not there to catch people out, we’re there to support and give credit”.

MEP Seán Kelly told the conference that concerns around tillage, imports and regulation are well understood at EU level, and that the CAP is likely to change significantly in the next reform period.

Responding to criticism that the EU cereals support system is fundamentally broken, Kelly said they are aware of the problem.

He stated that “there will be measures in the next CAP to try to address the cereal situation,” and that there is growing recognition that the sector needs targeted support rather than further constraint.

He said Ireland is “importing grain into our mills while enduring the greatest regulatory burden,” and questioned why imported products are allowed to set prices within the EU market.

Dairygold in 2025

In his opening address, Pat Clancy, chair of Dairygold, cited the challenging year ahead but pointed to positives for 2025.

A total of 106,000t of grains and beans were delivered to Dairygold in 2025.

Over two-thirds of that volume was delivered over six days in August.

Quality was high, with over 90% of the malting barley meeting specification.