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Tim Cullinan, the IFA treasurer and Tipperary pig farmer, has declared his intention to become the next president of the IFA with a promise to “go to war” on behalf of Irish farmers.
Cullinan told a Tipperary IFA meeting in Toomevara Hall, Co Tipperary, on Friday night that it is time to fight for farmers and their future.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal Cullinan said: "What I want to do, and what the IFA needs to do is get out there. Get on the ground and listen to our members and then we can put a bit of fight back in it because farming is on the floor."
He said that in his lifetime of experience of dairy, beef, tillage but predominantly pig farming, he has never seen so many incomes as challenged and farm families as concerned as they are now.
"Farmers are crying out for help. That’s the message I got back last night. I have the track record to deliver action. I have done it within the pig sector and I have done it in north Tipperary. I wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Department and the inspection regime.
“Quite simply for farmers, enough is enough; it’s time to stand up for ourselves – for who we are and for what we do.
“I’ve never been afraid to take a stand. My 15 years in committees and county roles has been about making a stand, fighting for farmers – and getting results. I think people in this room know when I go to war on something, I don’t take a step back. If there ever was a time when this kind of action was needed on behalf of Irish farmers, it’s now.”
I want to lead the charge and deliver for farmers
He said the current crisis hitting farmers is unprecedented.
“The assault on farming is coming from all quarters. Falling prices at the factory gate, penalties on the grid system, beef imports from Brazil and another vicious assault this week on drystock and suckler farmers in the latest climate report. We’re not taking it. It’s unacceptable and it’s grossly unfair.
“I want to lead the IFA. I want to lead the charge and deliver for farmers. The IFA must stand up for farmers. That’s our job and I intend to use all the resources of the biggest farming organisation in this country to deliver for farmers,” he said.
Mercosur
On Mercosur, he said that the beef barons of Brazil who are chopping down forests in the Amazon basin are cashing in on the double standards being allowed by the European Commission.
“The Department of Agriculture and the EU are quick to hold Irish farmers to account on standards. Rules, regulations, checks, audits and inspections – no stone is left unturned. But it’s double standards when it comes to beef imports,” he said, pledging to build alliances with French and Italian farmers in Europe to stop this deal.
“My message is simple – the deal as it stands cannot be signed. Our farmers are already on the brink.”
Regarding dairying, he said commentary from the likes of Professor John Fitzgerald that we need to stop expanding the dairy herd is beyond belief. “Our dairy farmers have been restrained long enough. They must now be allowed to take advantage of the opportunities in global growth and markets for dairy products.”
Cullinan said sheep farmers are also going through a particularly tough time, with sheep prices collapsing and pressure on incomes. “Factories are using the massive drop in sterling to bring cheap lambs from the north to collapse prices.”
Turning to tillage, he said that the drinks and whiskey industry is flourishing, building their brands off the back of sustainably produced Irish malting barley but not a cent of the profits from this added value has been passed back to the tillage farmer. “I will challenge the industry to pay a proper premium to growers,” he said.
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