In the wake of Budget 2019, there has been a mixed reaction from farm organisations.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has said that while the budget acknowledged the income difficulties in agriculture, more Government support is needed.

IFA president Joe Healy said: “The medium-term outlook for agriculture is very uncertain given policy and trade issues. The budget has not adequately recognised this and farmers will need more support to deal with these uncertainties.”

A pilot scheme for suckler farmers with funding of €20m is to be introduced to encourage farmers to weigh their cows and calves.

Joe Healy said this recognised the crisis in the sector but the funding provided was disappointing. He said any new measure would have to be farmer-friendly.

A pilot scheme for suckler farmers with funding of €20m is to be introduced to encourage farmers to weigh their cows and calves

Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) president Patrick Kent welcomed the announcement of the scheme and the €40 that would be available for weighing calves.

He said: “ICSA asked Minister Creed for this in 2016 as a means of making the BDGP more accurate and rewarding farmers for putting real information into the ICBF database.”

Income volatility

The Irish Co-Operative Society (ICOS) expressed its disappointment in Budget 2019 as no facility was provided for an income stabilisation measure. As part of its pre-budget submission, the organisation had called for a measure to help farmers cope with market volatility.

ICOS president Michael Spellman said the organisation would now focus on developing a volatility management tool which can be incorporated into the CAP 2020 Rural Development Plan.

Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Pat McCormack said income volatility was the biggest single issue facing family farms.

Despite this, he said the taxation system hammered farmers trying to make a living in a volatile global food market.

He said the need to help farmers cope with income volatility had been acknowledged by the Government and it was extremely disappointing something had yet to be delivered.

He said he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that the Government agenda seemed to be about enhancing the position of corporate structures and big business over family farms.

ANCs

In Budget 2019, funding for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme was increased by €22.7m to €250m. Both the IFA and the ICSA welcomed this as it restored payments to farmers with the lowest incomes and to those farming in the most disadvantaged areas.

The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) also welcomed the increased funding for ANC payments.

INHFA president Colm O’Donnell said the increased funding must be targeted at farmers with the highest land constraints.

Young farmers

Macra na Feirme president James Healy welcomed the budget saying it was an example of “thinking within the box” but there were positive developments for young farmers.

He said Macra welcomed the introduction of young trained farmer stamp duty relief and young trained farmer stock relief.

He added that the retention of the 90% agricultural relief on Capital Acquisitions Tax was essential and that the increase of €10,000 in the Category A threshold was also welcome.

Earned income credit

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue also moved to close the gap in tax credits for self-employed workers and PAYE workers. He announced a €200 increase in self-employed tax credit bringing it to €1,350, which is still behind the PAYE credit of €1,650.

Joe Healy said the move did not go far enough. “The Government continues to discriminate between employees and the self-employed in the income tax system. It is simply not right that a farmer earning €16,500 will be paying €300 a year more in income tax than a PAYE employee next year,'' he said.

Healy added that the Government had reneged on a commitment in its Programme for Government to reach parity by 2018. These comments were echoed by the ICSA’s Patrick Kent who said it appeared the process of reaching parity would now be dragged out over seven years rather than over three budgets.

Brexit

Joe Healy identified Brexit as one of the major upcoming issues for farmers but he questioned how much Budget 2019 helped farmers prepare for it.

He said the Brexit loan scheme appeared to be the same scheme announced in last year’s budget. “We are sceptical about the merits of the new scheme as it is not available for working capital. Because the scheme is open to SMEs, it is questionable how much of it farmers will benefit from,” he said.

Macra na Feirme president James Healy said the €60m for Brexit-related supports was much needed and he called on Minister Creed to ringfence part of this funding for young farmers.

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Budget 2019: everything farmers need to know