Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has proposed the scrapping of the Straw Incorporation Measure for 2024 amid indications that straw supplies are to be tight after this year’s harvest.

The CAP scheme pays tillage farmers €250/ha for chopping cereal straw before tilling it into the soil and €150/ha for those growing oilseed rape.

The Minister signalled on Wednesday that he plans on seeking permission to defer 2024’s straw chopping scheme from the European Commission.

Farming organisations will have an opportunity to give their views on the planned deferral of the 2024 scheme before permission is sought from Brussels.

The plan is to be discussed at the Farmers Charter and CAP monitoring committee before this permission is sought.

“Last winter depleted national reserves of straw and resulted in very little availability in the early months of this year,” Minister McConalogue said on Wednesday.

“At present, although growth is improving, the indications are that fodder is still behind where we would like to be.

“While I appreciate that tillage farmers may be disappointed by this move, there is a very strong market for straw this year due to the shortage and the need to replenish supplies.”

Previous commitment

When payments for the scheme issued last year, Minister McConalogue had stated that the Straw Incorporation Measure was one of the measures which showed “mine and [the] Government’s long-term commitment to the tillage sector in Ireland”.

He insisted this week that he remains “fully committed to meeting the targets for straw incorporation” over the lifetime of the CAP plan in announcing his intention to scrap the scheme.

Securing supplies

Straw availability had been discussed at a meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee held last week.

“I urge those who need straw to engage with tillage farmers to ensure their supplies are secure for the coming winter,” the Minister added.