Irish tillage farmers are facing intense competition from imports.

However, it is very clear that Government wants to encourage the sector for all kinds of reasons.

Tillage is important as a source of high quality raw materials for both our livestock as well as our food and drinks industries, and it maintains activity across a range of service and processing sectors as well as having a uniquely low carbon footprint.

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But it has to exist where it produces about two million tonnes of production per year, while its customers need over six million tonnes of animal feedstuffs for our pig, poultry and livestock sectors.

The Government has shown its commitment by implementing schemes such the protein aid and straw incorporation, as well as a €30 million sustainability payment.

But with CAP changes in prospect and greater national flexibility on the cards, a new approach should be considered.

Feed imports are going to be a long-term feature of Irish animal production, and general compounders will not routinely pay extra for Irish-produced grain.

To encourage domestic production while facilitating imports, we could stick with the developing system of piecemeal payments, or a new approach could be taken to recognise the continuing reality by having a guaranteed price based on Irish or European costs of production.

In a year of scarcity, as in 2022 the imported price would be above the guaranteed price, and the exchequer would pay nothing. But, in a year of global surplus, Irish producers would receive the agreed guaranteed price with a top up between the world price and the guaranteed domestic price.

Quality assurance

A system like this would facilitate the development of a widely acceptable quality assurance scheme for Irish grain, as well as giving much needed income certainty to growers while at the same time allowing our grain feeding sectors to have access to competitively priced raw materials.

This is precisely the type of policy that Britain followed in its beef and sheep sectors before EU entry.

Prices were kept low for British consumers with imports from around the world, but British farmers were protected from world prices by their own exchequer funding and UK production was maintained.

Of course, such a policy would need clearance from Brussels, but it’s already clear that member states – especially for sectors under pressure – will have significant discretion, and income guarantee schemes are being advocated.

We should not be afraid to look at what options are technically possible and nationally desirable.