The extension of the slurry spreading deadline was just one of the issues discussed in a meeting between the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, and a delegation from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).
This follows on from several other calls from rural TDs and other farm organisations asking for the deadline to be put back to the end of the month.
Speaking following the meeting, the President of the ICSA, Patrick Kent, said that the pressure is increasing on many farms across the country.
With the weather set to remain difficult for the coming days there is a real crisis emerging on many farms that still have slurry to get out.
“The closing date of October 15 is completely unworkable. At this stage, the last thing we want to see is panic spreading of slurry in the coming days in wet conditions,” he said.
ANC payments, Brexit and Mercosur
Meanwhile, the ICSA has also called for an immediate increase in Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) payments during the meeting which took place today (Wednesday, September 27).
“The restoration of ANC payments must be a priority in the short term and in the longer term we need to demand full funding of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-Brexit,” he added.
A fully-funded CAP, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit talks, must be a priority, according to the ICSA. The organisation wants to see trade issues being discussed as soon as possible.
We see positives in the statement from the UK Prime Minister with her reference to a two-year transition period. We need to keep tariff-free access to UK markets as a key objective and the longer we can maintain normality the better.
In relation to the Mercosur trade talks, the ICSA insisted that Ireland must take a very strong stand against any concessions on beef.
“It is inconceivable that any beef would be allowed in under a tariff rate quota, at a time when our markets are in a state of complete flux due to Brexit uncertainty.
“We also made a very strong case that it would be intolerable to allow more Brazilian beef in after the scandal of adulterated meat from Brazil earlier this year. The CETA agreement has already done a lot of damage to the beef sector,” Kent said.
During the meeting with Minister Creed, the ICSA also called for the reopening of the organics scheme.
“We need to do much better in developing high-value export markets for beef and lamb. However, we need more critical mass in terms of farmers who are certified organic – but the current closure of the organics scheme is a real setback for the sector,” he concluded.