Following the announcement on Monday of the proposals to support the growth of tillage crops, president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Pat McCormack said there is a "glaring error" associated with the lack of grassland and fertiliser measures therein.

However, he said the measures are welcomed and will hopefully result in increased growing of tillage crops, but he was adamant that grass is key in terms of fodder supplies and the absence of any substantial measure on grassland is hugely disappointing.

McCormack said: "We need to grow grass and this reality is being threatened by the massively escalated costs associated with this in 2022 due to unprecedented fertiliser prices."

McCormack added that a higher rate of payment should be made available for the growing of maize or fodder beet given the significantly higher cost of producing these crops.

Proposals

He welcomed the proposals in relation to species-rich grassland, but said it must be recognised that "the jury is still out" on their effectiveness and that the measure, on its own, simply will not ensure that sufficient fodder supplies are available for winter 2022/2023.

"The single biggest challenge for dairy and livestock farmers in 2022 to this point is the price of fertiliser and that will have to be addressed both at national and EU level.

"This is not just an Irish issue. From ICMSA contacts across the EU, we know that the issue of how much food will be produced in 2022 is now a serious question being asked right across member states," he said.

Fertiliser prices have escalated to ridiculous levels he said, adding that both the Government and the EU are going to have to "step in" if Ireland is going to have the quantities necessary to grow the sufficient levels of grass needed to for the silage next winter.

"The lack of specific measures to support grassland is a glaring error that will have to be rectified sooner rather than later”, he concluded.