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The planned €10m straw chopping scheme will make balers and specialised handling machines almost worthless and result in a €4.5m cut in contractors’ income, according to the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI).
FCI said the scheme will make many of balers and specialised handling machines “both redundant and almost worthless in terms of their market values”, FCI chair John Hughes said.
“Our FCI members have invested more than €10m in big square balers and associated machinery systems over a 10-year period, based on the replacement cost of a new big square baler at €150,000,” Hughes said.
“If we include more than 500 round balers into the equation, this amounts to an additional farm contractor investment of more than €20m.”
Income
The FCI has said the scheme will have a significant negative impact on the incomes of contractors who provide straw baling services, particularly in large areas of the south and east of Ireland.
Hughes said the scheme will “effectively remove at least one million bales from the current system, meaning an annual drop in income of more than €4.5m directly related to straw baling activities, for those farm contractors who have provided a baling service to their client farmers over many years.”
FCI estimates there are in the region of 100 large square balers in operation in Ireland, largely within farm contractor fleets, which are used almost exclusively for straw baling.
There are more than 500 round balers that are used almost exclusively for straw baling
“In addition, we estimate that there are more than 500 round balers that are used almost exclusively for straw baling within farm contractor fleets. Combine these machine investments with the investments in bale handling machines and purpose-built trailers by these farm contractors, and this amounts to an investment by farm contractors of more than €30m in baling and associated machinery systems over a 10-year period, none of which was supported by Government or EU Grant Aid,” Hughes said.
Compensation
“As part of the negotiations to withdraw from growing sugar beet in Ireland, the role of the farm contractor was duly recognised,” according to John Hughes.
“Farm contractors, who could establish their bona fides as sugar beet contractors were compensated for the loss of their business and the redundancy of their machines.
“We are requesting that as part of this current proposed straw chopping scheme, the role of the farm contractor is recognised in association with FCI and that a fair compensation scheme is put in place to take account of the significant loss of business as well as the huge loss in value to the machines,” Hughes said.
FCI has called on the Department to immediately suspend the proposed straw chopping scheme pending a proper discussion opportunity for stakeholders including farm contractors.
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