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Now that Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has ruled out the suckler cull schemes previously included in the Climate Action Plan for 2023, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) has called for suckler funding.
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher described it as “imperative that we look at ways of funding active suckler, beef and sheep farmers to keep them viable and to help them improve efficiency metrics which will also benefit the climate targets”.
He highlighted that the ICSA fought hard at the Food Vision beef group meetings to protect the suckler herd and said that these efforts have paid off.
“However, more needs to be done,” he insisted.
Funding package
On this, the ICSA chief said that it has proposed a €250m per annum support programme to help farmers achieve climate targets, something Kelleher said his association has put to the Minister.
The Cork farmer proposes that €80m should be provided to store producers and beef finishers through a scheme to weigh cattle at regular intervals with a view to earlier average finishing.
The ICSA also proposes an additional €60m for suckler farmers “over and above” what has been agreed in the CAP and promised in the budget.
“For sheep farmers, we have insisted that the sector needs €50m in addition to the CAP support in order to deliver a ewe payment of €35/ewe,” Kelleher said.
The Irish Farmers Journal sought clarity from the ICSA on where such additional funding, from outside the CAP, would come from.
A spokesperson highlighted that government has said the Climate Action Plan will cost approximately €119bn to implement.
ICSA said it wants to ensure that some of that money is directed towards active suckler, beef and sheep farmers. “We do not believe that CAP can or should be expected to solve every global challenge,” the spokesperson confirmed.
Dairy balance
The ICSA president said that such funding will not only make these farm sectors more sustainable, but suggested that it would ensure a balance is kept between dairy and less intensive systems.
“If we allow suckler and beef numbers to decline further, we are simply adding to the increase in dairy numbers,” he warned.
“The reality is that agriculture can only make progress on climate targets if the Government accepts that climate action costs money.
“The 2022 export figures, which show that the agri-food sector was worth €18.7bn in exports, demonstrates how important farming is to rural Ireland and to the economy in every county in Ireland,” Kelleher concluded.
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