The row between farm organisations and the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue over the suspension of the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) remains ongoing a week after the minister moved to scrap the scheme for 2024.

Negotiations are continuing between tillage farmers and officials from the Department of Agriculture and are expected to continue at the Farmers’ Charter meeting this Thursday.

Speaking at the Irish Farmers Journal Tullamore Farm National Suckler and Sheep Open Day on Tuesday, the minister said he decided not to proceed with the scheme because he didn’t want “a situation where the Government were paying to chop-in straw which we may have to end up importing next spring”.

He said his message to farmers in terms of clarity “is to bale it because it’s needed and my message to [livestock] farmers is to buy it, because it’s needed”.

Support

“The €10m allocated for [the measure] this year, I’m determined to make sure that we keep that in the sector so that the sector is supported because I want to see the sector grow,” he said.

On Tuesday morning he met with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG).

The farm organisations remained tightlipped after this meeting.

Both organisations told the Irish Farmers Journal ahead of the meeting that they were firm in their views that the minister needs to reverse his decision to seek a suspension of the SIM.

Changes

On Saturday last, the minister indicated he was willing to make payments under the scheme when straw is baled.

“My objective in not proceeding with the SIM, as envisaged, is to ensure that we do not pay for straw to be chopped now that we may need to prevent challenges with fodder this coming winter against a backdrop of depleted fodder reserves and poor growth rates so far this year.”

Oilseed rape

When asked by a farmer at the Tullamore Farm open day why oilseed rape straw would not be paid for in the measure, the minister explained that all straw was needed.

The Irish Farmers Journal pointed out that oilseed rape straw sprayed with Astrokerb cannot be baled and used as farmyard manure. To this, the minister said: “I’m looking at it in the round. I have to look and provide leadership to the sector and sometimes that means hard decisions.”

Imports

“I don’t want, as minister, to have a situation where I’m overseeing the import of straw. It’s happened twice in the last decade,” he said. Farmers had already started to chop straw last week before the minister announced the move and continue to do so this week.