The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) is calling for measures available under the impending new sheep scheme to be the same for hill as lowland sectors. Livestock chairman Brendan Joyce says hill farmers should not be discriminated against and is calling on the Minister of Agriculture to deliver a 50% top up for the hill sheep sector. “The old sheep grassland scheme acknowledged the difficulties of the hill sheep sector and had a top-up in place for hill sheep farmers. It is accepted within the industry that any measure that a farmer will be expected to deliver in a hill situation is at least 50% more expensive to carry out”.
The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) is calling for measures available under the impending new sheep scheme to be the same for hill as lowland sectors. Livestock chairman Brendan Joyce says hill farmers should not be discriminated against and is calling on the Minister of Agriculture to deliver a 50% top up for the hill sheep sector.
“The old sheep grassland scheme acknowledged the difficulties of the hill sheep sector and had a top-up in place for hill sheep farmers. It is accepted within the industry that any measure that a farmer will be expected to deliver in a hill situation is at least 50% more expensive to carry out”.
Joyce added “there must be flexibility in any potential reference year being used in the scheme for farmers who had to adjust sheep numbers as a result of complying with a Commonage Management Plan”.
Hill farmers will not be found wanting in making their voices heard again if the New Sheep Welfare Scheme is not sensitive to the realities faced by them on the ground
He criticised recent schemes introduced by the Department as being unsuitable for hill farmers. “Farmers have seen a beef scheme that was totally unsuitable for hill and small farmers and a GLAS Plus that cannot be accessed in a meaningful way, even by farmers with environmental restrictions. Hill farmers have had to take the fight to Brussels and onto the streets against collective agreements as a pre-condition for commonage farmers to enter GLAS and most significantly had to fight land eligibility inspections that had a flawed basis and pushed farmers to the brink of financial ruin. Hill farmers will not be found wanting in making their voices heard again if the New Sheep Welfare Scheme is not sensitive to the realities faced by them on the ground”.
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