As exclusively revealed by the
Irish Farmers Journal, the tillage farmers worst affected by last year’s failed harvest are in line for a
long-awaited crisis fund.The problems that emerged in last year’s harvest started the previous autumn.
As exclusively revealed by the Irish Farmers Journal, the tillage farmers worst affected by last year’s failed harvest are in line for a long-awaited crisis fund.
The problems that emerged in last year’s harvest started the previous autumn.
Farmers along the Cork seaboard had to re-sow crops following very poor germination.
The real problems emerged along the seaboard in west Cork and the western half of the country, at the annual harvest last year.
There were almost no satisfactory conditions to cut at the peak harvest time. While rainfall volumes were low in some places, the problem was that there were showers most days, which halted the harvesters.
Then the crops went into the ground, but the dry spell required to harvest these crops never came.
By the end of last September, harvest 2016 became a salvage operation.
Yields of 1t/acre were common in the worst affected areas; the quality was poor and straw practically useless.
The upshot of all of this is that farmers suffered catastrophic losses in these worst affected pockets. A poor harvest was compounded by poor prices.
I’m aware of one farmer who yielded 1t/acre and land, which was all rented. His Basic Payment Scheme money did not even cover the rent yet alone inputs.
Political will
Thus began a political campaign to deliver a financial package for these farmers – a crisis fund.
The Department of Agriculture initially resisted on the grounded that it did want to set an unwanted precedent. Would the Department then have to establish a similar fund if beef prices fell to €3/kg or milk prices to 12c/l?
The political movement was becoming too strong to ignore.
Fianna Fáil’s agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue tabled a motion calling for a crisis fund. Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed’s counter motion was comfortably defeated.
This was the main hurdle to be cleared. It was only a matter of time before a fund was established.
What it will deliver and what farmers need
1.The tillage crisis fund recognised that farmers in certain area had a disastrous 2016 and this is welcomed. The Department was too slow off the mark here. Decision, one way or the other, have been made based on last year’s failure.2.It is a case of being too little, too late, however. The accepted figure of €15,000 per farmer won’t save a farmer and it won’t cover any of their losses.3.This does not address the more fundamental concerns that tillage farmers have. They feel that there is no support from them. Yes, there was TAMS for the tillage sector was rolled out, but you need cash to get cash in that scenario. Then the low interest-rate loans from the SBCI were rolled out. Tillage farmers had hoped they would receive priority access to this money, but that did not arrive. If policy makers are serious about supporting the sector, a new low-interest loan scheme exclusively for tillage farmers should be opened to allow farmers address cashflow issues as well as having an opportunity to invest machinery and infrastructure. Read more
Minister Creed failing tillage farmers - McConalogue
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