A large cohort of sheep farmers operating in hill areas were unable to qualify for the Fodder Support Scheme this year and now they have also been ruled out of the scheme for 2023, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said.

Under the basis of the scheme, farmers are paid €100/ha to make hay or silage. Farmers in many hill areas don't qualify for payments as a result, the IFA has said.

This ignores the difficulties of sheep farmers in these areas who also face an inputs crisis, IFA national sheep chair Kevin Comiskey said.

It is also another example of sheep farmers being left behind by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, according to the IFA.

Factory prices are now up to €12/lamb behind last year

Comiskey said that the IFA highlighted concerns for the store lamb trade to the Minister and his officials earlier this year and this has now come to pass, with a very difficult store trade for lighter hill lambs in particular, which are the same cohort of farmers ruled out of this scheme.

"The lack of support for sheep farmers from the Minister has reached a critical stage and the failure of the Minister and his officials to address the shortcomings in the original Fodder Support Scheme has angered sheep farmers," he warned.

Supports

He urged the Minister to come forward with meaningful targeted supports for sheep farmers in recognition of the current difficulties on farms and the market failure to return production cost increases.

"Factory prices are now up to €12/lamb behind last year, despite the increased production costs on farms. This is not sustainable in a low-income vulnerable sector and must be offset by direct supports.

"The Minister must, as a matter of urgency, commit funding to a targeted scheme for sheep farmers that will bring direct supports for the sector up to €30/ewe," he said.

Kevin Comiskey said it is ironic that sheep farming is one of the most environmentally sustainable farming systems in the country, yet it is the one that the Government has failed to support throughout this crisis and in the new CAP for next year.