The INHFA president Colm O’Donnell called out European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan on his comments over cutting suckler cow numbers.
Two weeks ago, the Commissioner said that suckler farmers should be incentivised to switch to an alternative enterprise such as biomass or forestry.
“I see recent rumblings from Commissioner Hogan saying that farmers with 10 cows in Roscommon that aren’t making a lot should look at having a cull of those cows and get out and put his land into biomass or a hectare of forestry.
“Well to be honest, I would say that’s not acceptable to our membership, that kind of thinking. While diversification of land use policy is no doubt going to be part of the next CAP programme, why come west of the Shannon to give the example?
“That’s unfair. If you take that farmer in Roscommon or in any of the areas that we live in and farm in and he has his 10 cows there. He’s a specialist producer, he has the skills he knows. If he goes and sees this is not a viable option any more, when he’s gone, he’s gone. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
Terrain
O’Donnell said that those cows are bred to manage those landscapes, they’re bred to survive in that terrain.
“A lot of them are out-wintered, there’s no big requirement on slurry capacity, they have a good carbon footprint and they manage those landscapes.
“If those cattle go, they can’t be replaced, because you can have a five star heifer coming from a dairy herd and if you put 25 stars on that heifer she wouldn’t survive on that type of land. It’s as simple as that.
“In fact if you put all the stars on the Milky Way on her, that cow wouldn’t survive. It’s to illustrate that these beef-bred cattle are what our industry was built on and if they go, they cannot be replaced. This is very serious,” he said.
As part of the legislative CAP proposals, the Commissioner is offside here, O’Donnell said.
“The general principle of the CAP proposals is to improve the sustainable development of farming, food and rural areas.
“Dairying and trees cannot be considered as fostering a diversified agricultural sector in ensuring food security.”
Not supporting the beef sector is not consistent with the general objectives of strengthening the socio-economic fabric of rural areas, he said.
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The INHFA president Colm O’Donnell called out European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan on his comments over cutting suckler cow numbers.
Two weeks ago, the Commissioner said that suckler farmers should be incentivised to switch to an alternative enterprise such as biomass or forestry.
“I see recent rumblings from Commissioner Hogan saying that farmers with 10 cows in Roscommon that aren’t making a lot should look at having a cull of those cows and get out and put his land into biomass or a hectare of forestry.
“Well to be honest, I would say that’s not acceptable to our membership, that kind of thinking. While diversification of land use policy is no doubt going to be part of the next CAP programme, why come west of the Shannon to give the example?
“That’s unfair. If you take that farmer in Roscommon or in any of the areas that we live in and farm in and he has his 10 cows there. He’s a specialist producer, he has the skills he knows. If he goes and sees this is not a viable option any more, when he’s gone, he’s gone. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
Terrain
O’Donnell said that those cows are bred to manage those landscapes, they’re bred to survive in that terrain.
“A lot of them are out-wintered, there’s no big requirement on slurry capacity, they have a good carbon footprint and they manage those landscapes.
“If those cattle go, they can’t be replaced, because you can have a five star heifer coming from a dairy herd and if you put 25 stars on that heifer she wouldn’t survive on that type of land. It’s as simple as that.
“In fact if you put all the stars on the Milky Way on her, that cow wouldn’t survive. It’s to illustrate that these beef-bred cattle are what our industry was built on and if they go, they cannot be replaced. This is very serious,” he said.
As part of the legislative CAP proposals, the Commissioner is offside here, O’Donnell said.
“The general principle of the CAP proposals is to improve the sustainable development of farming, food and rural areas.
“Dairying and trees cannot be considered as fostering a diversified agricultural sector in ensuring food security.”
Not supporting the beef sector is not consistent with the general objectives of strengthening the socio-economic fabric of rural areas, he said.
Read more
Brussels wants suckler herd reduction in exchange for €100m beef fund
€100m autumn payout to beef farmers – Creed
‘Vital’ that every cent of €100m fund goes to farmers
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