Malting barley growers will have the option to claim back the proportion of the 19c/t levy which is directed towards the IFA, according to the IFA Grain Committee, Chairman Liam Dunne.
Speaking at a recent IFA malting barley growers meeting in Co. Wexford, he said that this decision was made at the IFA National Council meeting last week.
“The National Council of IFA, which has been pretty busy lately, had a look at the situation and they agreed that all levies coming to the IFA are voluntary,” he said.
According to Dunne, the majority of growers are now facing a serious decision whether they want to pay the levy or not, but he added all growers will have the option to claim it back from next year’s harvest.
The IFA part of it is optional and if people want to claim it back from next harvest on there is no problem with that.
“The levy until now, and it is the only commodity within farmers sales that there is a compulsory levy.”
However, he added that approximately 33% of the levy goes towards research carried out by UCD on behalf Boortmalt, who originally introduced the levy.
“Up until Boortmalt made it compulsory to have the levy in the contract.
It is the standard norm on the continent that all contracts have a compulsory levy to go towards the organisation that negotiated the contract.
Also speaking at the meeting, Mark Browne of Wexford IFA said that it is guaranteed that any grower can claim back the proportion of the levy paid towards the IFA from the 2016 harvest onwards.
However, he added that there is no way that growers can get out of the levy for research and development.
Crowd hears that IFA levy will no longer be compulsory in 2016 malting barley contracts at IFA malting meeting pic.twitter.com/DRVllsasFn
— Agriland (@AgrilandIreland) December 3, 2015
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