Tillage farmers hit out at grain import volume

Tillage farmers have criticised the amount of grain imported into Ireland calling it a “mockery” to climate action.

Farmer Ollie Whyte questioned why there is no way for consumers to know if the drinks or food they buy are made with Irish grain.

Trade-off

“Food producers are being used as a trade-off in world trade agreements and we’ve suffered badly from that,” he said. “What comes in boats is the cheapest in the world and it makes a laugh and a mockery out of climate action.

“The consumer is not offered a choice of Irish grain or food produced from that.”

Minister of Agriculture Martin Heydon addressed farmers at the Irish Grain Growers Group AGM on Friday.

Minister Heydon responded that trade deals are positive as a whole for Irish farming.

“Having spent four and a half years in the Department as Minister of State with responsibility for new market development and as a Fine Gael politician, we [are] pro-trade.

“It’s in our DNA so it’s not natural for me to oppose a trade deal,” he said.

Teagasc estimated that barley, wheat and oat production in Ireland decreased by 300,000t over the last five years to 1.9m tonnes in 2024.

Meanwhile, Central Statistics Office data showed that Ireland imported €423,038 worth of cereals and cereal preparations compared to €321,228 of meat and meat preparations in December 2024.

Heydon added that, unlike tillage, the beef sector can survive a hit like Mercosur.

“I think our €3bn beef sector financially can take a €50m hit but we’d absolutely prefer it didn’t happen.

“We as a country and our farming sector in general benefit greatly from trade deals. I absolutely accept that tillage is in a unique scenario to this.”

Gearbox

The Minister used an analogy to compare the Irish agriculture sector to a car’s gearbox; saying that each system must be functioning for the car to move.

In response, a tillage farmer from the crowd said: “Your analogy of a gearbox was probably apt because there’s a good few growers that feel that they are the reverse in the gearbox, rather than going forward.”

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