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There were calls for a simple scheme for the suckler cow at the penultimate Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2020 consultation meeting in Athlone on Tuesday night.
Speaking from the floor, Roscommon IFA chair John Hanley said that south Roscommon is the most densely populated sheep area in Europe and that Roscommon has a big population of suckler cows.
He said the Sheep Welfare Scheme is a simple scheme and that something similar should be brought in for sucklers.
“Surely there can be some simple scheme for the suckler cow that will give a payment that is relevant for what [suckler farmers] produce to keep that sector alive.
“There’s 22,000 farmers in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), why wasn’t there a better take-up?”
Hanley also highlighted food security and said that while consumers want cheap food – food is not cheap to produce.
“As farmers, I often refer to us as producers of health. The consumers we are supplying would want to remember that as well.
“The retailer gets 51% of what the farmer produces, the processors get 28% and the farmer gets 21%. There’s nothing fair about that.”
Farm safety
Farm safety was another theme in Athlone on Tuesday night. Vincent Nally of Irish Rural Link said that it is a much bigger issue than bolstering farm yards.
“We’re going nowhere with it. In the last number of years 50% of [workplace] fatalities are in farming.”
We’re losing 20 farmers a week in Europe, we need to ask the EU how much they value farmers lives.
“Europe doesn’t even have a policy on farm safety, it thinks more on the birds, bats, bees and water quality than farmers’ lives.
“We need a behaviour change – that will require investment.”
Inspections
On the inspection regime in the present CAP, director of organisation at the Irish Natura and Hill Farmer Association (INHFA), Vincent Roddy, said for a lot of farmers inspections are terrifying and they have to be reviewed.
“Many farmers would prefer to see a member of the gardaí coming onto their farm than a Department of Agriculture inspector.”
Concluding the meeting, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Andrew Doyle, said that, in the future, inspections need to be on the basis of an outcome rather than compliance.
On the CAP budget he said the bottom line at all of the CAP meetings to date is the next CAP budget.
“To put one fact out there, it’s been mentioned, the net loss of the UK is probably €4bn. For the [current] budget to standstill and remain, each of the other 27 member states need to increase [their contribution] from 1% of GDP to 1.2%.”
Read more on the CAP 2020 meeting in Athlone in this week’s Irish Farmers Journal.
Who should get direct payments? CAP 2020 talks get practical
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