The tillage support scheme announced by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue on Tuesday is “way off the mark”, according to Irish Farmers Association (IFA) grain chair Kieran McEvoy.
“Not putting national funding alongside the €7.1m EU agricultural reserve for the tillage sector was a missed opportunity that the Minister must fix in the upcoming budget,” he said.
The package, announced by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, will see tillage farmers paid €28/ha (€11.33/ac), up to a maximum of 100ha.
The payment will go to farmers with oilseed rape, winter and spring oats, barley, wheat and rye declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability for 2023.
The minimum area which can be claimed is 5ha, while the maximum is 100ha and would equate to a maximum payment of €2,800. The tillage farmer payments are expected to begin in January 2024.
‘Minuscule’
McEvoy described the €11/ac payment as “minuscule” compared with the challenges tillage farmers are facing.
Tillage farmers have been hit with bad weather, low prices and poor yields, said the IFA. \ Claire Nash
He said that tillage farmers have been hit with a significant drop in cereal prices, moderate to very poor grain yields in all crops and very high input costs.
“Some farmers are still battling to try and salvage what they can from the last of the harvest. Some crops will be left in the ground. Margins are being decimated. Negative or minimal financial returns will be the norm for growers in 2023,” he said.
Underestimated
The IFA grain chair insisted that the Minister has “seriously underestimated the challenge on the ground and under-delivered with this latest scheme”.
The tillage support scheme was announced on Tuesday.\ Claire Nash
“It certainly could have been a lot more meaningful, because the [European] Commission gave member states the opportunity to complement agricultural reserve funding with 200% funding from the national exchequer.
“That would have been another €14m-plus into the scheme that certainly would have made it more meaningful for struggling farmers. The Minister instead has chosen, or failed to deliver, at a time when tillage farmers are being decimated. It’s very demoralising,” he said.
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New €28/ha payment for tillage sector
The tillage support scheme announced by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue on Tuesday is “way off the mark”, according to Irish Farmers Association (IFA) grain chair Kieran McEvoy.
“Not putting national funding alongside the €7.1m EU agricultural reserve for the tillage sector was a missed opportunity that the Minister must fix in the upcoming budget,” he said.
The package, announced by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, will see tillage farmers paid €28/ha (€11.33/ac), up to a maximum of 100ha.
The payment will go to farmers with oilseed rape, winter and spring oats, barley, wheat and rye declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability for 2023.
The minimum area which can be claimed is 5ha, while the maximum is 100ha and would equate to a maximum payment of €2,800. The tillage farmer payments are expected to begin in January 2024.
‘Minuscule’
McEvoy described the €11/ac payment as “minuscule” compared with the challenges tillage farmers are facing.
Tillage farmers have been hit with bad weather, low prices and poor yields, said the IFA. \ Claire Nash
He said that tillage farmers have been hit with a significant drop in cereal prices, moderate to very poor grain yields in all crops and very high input costs.
“Some farmers are still battling to try and salvage what they can from the last of the harvest. Some crops will be left in the ground. Margins are being decimated. Negative or minimal financial returns will be the norm for growers in 2023,” he said.
Underestimated
The IFA grain chair insisted that the Minister has “seriously underestimated the challenge on the ground and under-delivered with this latest scheme”.
The tillage support scheme was announced on Tuesday.\ Claire Nash
“It certainly could have been a lot more meaningful, because the [European] Commission gave member states the opportunity to complement agricultural reserve funding with 200% funding from the national exchequer.
“That would have been another €14m-plus into the scheme that certainly would have made it more meaningful for struggling farmers. The Minister instead has chosen, or failed to deliver, at a time when tillage farmers are being decimated. It’s very demoralising,” he said.
Read more
New €28/ha payment for tillage sector
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