Beef prices, disadvantaged areas and a focus on active farmers were among the issues highlighted by farmers the Irish Farmers Journal spoke to on day one of Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary’s tenure.
Although fresh to the agriculture portfolio, farmers expect him to deliver on a range of areas. Here’s what they had to say.
Current factory prices are not sustainable
“The new Minister must ensure a better price for our beef cattle. Prices have only risen 20c/kg in the past year. It’s very hard to keep going, working on the margins beef farmers are being offered at the minute.
“If you look at the sheep price and how factories are able to pay an extra euro per kilo all of a sudden, it really shows that a bit of scarcity rules all. Factories can pay a good price for cattle, but they won’t until they have to.
“The new Minister must ensure beef farmers are paid for their cattle, because the current factory price isn’t sustainable.
“Over €20m of the BEAM scheme wasn’t claimed for last year and was left behind. The Minister can’t allow this to happen again with the new €50m beef scheme.
“Here in Monaghan, we have much greater challenges than the rest of the country. Our land is very hilly, while much of the midlands is as flat as a plate. The Minister needs to ensure disadvantaged payments are maintained to allow us to farm into the future.”
- Tony McFarland, beef and sheep farmer, Edengoash, Newbliss, Co Monaghan
A welcome appointment for the west
“It’s a welcome appointment for the west of Ireland. In terms of the biodiversity strategy and CAP, it looks like there will be a lot of pressure on the west of Ireland.
“It looks like they’re going to use us as a carbon store for the east of the country. It means we’ll be shutdown from farming, if not slowed down. We’re hoping he’ll be a voice for us.
“It’s a crucial time for us. Convergence and CAP need to be hammered out."
- Damien Conway, sheep farmer, Newport, Co Mayo
Damien Conway
Emphasis on the active farmer
“Minister Calleary comes from a rural part of the country, so he should be a good representative for farmers and rural issues.
“He will need to put a lot of emphasis on the active or genuine farmer, so that the payments go to them and not the armchair farmer. That will mean looking at some elements of the leasing of entitlements.
“For me, one of the most important things is that schemes such as GLAS and organics are rolled over for another year or two years, until the new CAP is agreed.
“On the organics, it is something that there will be an increase in, but it’s important not to oversupply the market. We need the certification bodies and the Department to work with farmers on it.
– John Curran, organic beef and sheep farmer, Kells, Co Meath and Meath IFA chair
Pat Murphy, Connacht IFA chair. \ IFA Twitter
“I think Calleary’s appointment is a positive one. I was sorry to see Barry Cowen go on a person basis. It’s great to have a Minister in the west of Ireland.
“I’ve met with him a couple of times - he’s a person we can work with and we look forward to working with him.
“We’re looking for fair play and an income for the west of Ireland. They’re very low for suckler, sheep and hill farmers.
“He has to deliver on CAP. We need schemes that we can buy into and schemes that leave a few quid for us, the farmer.
“Between the suckler cow scheme, REPS, the ewe scheme – these are very important to us in the west.
“They put food on the table for west of Ireland farmers.”
- Pat Murphy, suckler and dairy farmer, Ardrahan, Co Galway and IFA Connacht chair
Pig farmers need a helping hand
"I feel very sorry for Barry Cowen, even though I’m not a Fianna Fáil supporter. Those who haven’t sinned should throw the first stone.
"I don’t know what Dara Calleary will be like. I’d say Michéal Martin had to do something to balance the books.
"I don’t think that’s a good enough a reason to put someone in as Minister for Agriculture - it can’t be filled just for the sake of filling it. An awful lot depends on decisions made by the Department for the rest of the country.
"Will he be strong enough to stand up to the industry on behalf of farmers?
"Pig farmers need a helping hand. We’re not doing too badly, even though the trade with China has been impacted, but it’s not so long since we’ve seen very bad times. We can’t lose sight of where we were and where we can go back to very quickly.
"We need to make sure that Minister Calleary understands that strong measures are in place to keep African swine fever (ASF) out of the country."
- Tom Sherman, pig farmer, Co Cork
Read more
Baptism of fire ahead for Calleary
The big interview with Janusz Wojciechowski: ‘Farmers are part of the solution’
Weekly Podcast: Cowengate and questions for the profit monitor
Beef prices, disadvantaged areas and a focus on active farmers were among the issues highlighted by farmers the Irish Farmers Journal spoke to on day one of Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary’s tenure.
Although fresh to the agriculture portfolio, farmers expect him to deliver on a range of areas. Here’s what they had to say.
Current factory prices are not sustainable
“The new Minister must ensure a better price for our beef cattle. Prices have only risen 20c/kg in the past year. It’s very hard to keep going, working on the margins beef farmers are being offered at the minute.
“If you look at the sheep price and how factories are able to pay an extra euro per kilo all of a sudden, it really shows that a bit of scarcity rules all. Factories can pay a good price for cattle, but they won’t until they have to.
“The new Minister must ensure beef farmers are paid for their cattle, because the current factory price isn’t sustainable.
“Over €20m of the BEAM scheme wasn’t claimed for last year and was left behind. The Minister can’t allow this to happen again with the new €50m beef scheme.
“Here in Monaghan, we have much greater challenges than the rest of the country. Our land is very hilly, while much of the midlands is as flat as a plate. The Minister needs to ensure disadvantaged payments are maintained to allow us to farm into the future.”
- Tony McFarland, beef and sheep farmer, Edengoash, Newbliss, Co Monaghan
A welcome appointment for the west
“It’s a welcome appointment for the west of Ireland. In terms of the biodiversity strategy and CAP, it looks like there will be a lot of pressure on the west of Ireland.
“It looks like they’re going to use us as a carbon store for the east of the country. It means we’ll be shutdown from farming, if not slowed down. We’re hoping he’ll be a voice for us.
“It’s a crucial time for us. Convergence and CAP need to be hammered out."
- Damien Conway, sheep farmer, Newport, Co Mayo
Damien Conway
Emphasis on the active farmer
“Minister Calleary comes from a rural part of the country, so he should be a good representative for farmers and rural issues.
“He will need to put a lot of emphasis on the active or genuine farmer, so that the payments go to them and not the armchair farmer. That will mean looking at some elements of the leasing of entitlements.
“For me, one of the most important things is that schemes such as GLAS and organics are rolled over for another year or two years, until the new CAP is agreed.
“On the organics, it is something that there will be an increase in, but it’s important not to oversupply the market. We need the certification bodies and the Department to work with farmers on it.
– John Curran, organic beef and sheep farmer, Kells, Co Meath and Meath IFA chair
Pat Murphy, Connacht IFA chair. \ IFA Twitter
“I think Calleary’s appointment is a positive one. I was sorry to see Barry Cowen go on a person basis. It’s great to have a Minister in the west of Ireland.
“I’ve met with him a couple of times - he’s a person we can work with and we look forward to working with him.
“We’re looking for fair play and an income for the west of Ireland. They’re very low for suckler, sheep and hill farmers.
“He has to deliver on CAP. We need schemes that we can buy into and schemes that leave a few quid for us, the farmer.
“Between the suckler cow scheme, REPS, the ewe scheme – these are very important to us in the west.
“They put food on the table for west of Ireland farmers.”
- Pat Murphy, suckler and dairy farmer, Ardrahan, Co Galway and IFA Connacht chair
Pig farmers need a helping hand
"I feel very sorry for Barry Cowen, even though I’m not a Fianna Fáil supporter. Those who haven’t sinned should throw the first stone.
"I don’t know what Dara Calleary will be like. I’d say Michéal Martin had to do something to balance the books.
"I don’t think that’s a good enough a reason to put someone in as Minister for Agriculture - it can’t be filled just for the sake of filling it. An awful lot depends on decisions made by the Department for the rest of the country.
"Will he be strong enough to stand up to the industry on behalf of farmers?
"Pig farmers need a helping hand. We’re not doing too badly, even though the trade with China has been impacted, but it’s not so long since we’ve seen very bad times. We can’t lose sight of where we were and where we can go back to very quickly.
"We need to make sure that Minister Calleary understands that strong measures are in place to keep African swine fever (ASF) out of the country."
- Tom Sherman, pig farmer, Co Cork
Read more
Baptism of fire ahead for Calleary
The big interview with Janusz Wojciechowski: ‘Farmers are part of the solution’
Weekly Podcast: Cowengate and questions for the profit monitor
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