The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that a government scheme to reduce the Irish beef herd is “off the table”.
The minister made the comments at the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Farming and Climate Summit being held at Thomond Park in Limerick today (Tuesday, January 10).
Hundreds of farmers from across the country are attending the event which is examining the challenges for the agriculture sector in the face of climate change.
The government’s Climate Action Plan, which was published last month, sets out a series of measures to accelerate the actions needed for Ireland to meet its climate change targets.
The strategy outlines specific measures for the agriculture sector which are earmarked for delivery or implementation in the coming years.
This includes the rolling out the recommendations of the Food Vision dairy and beef groups.
However, the minister has today said that a reduction scheme for the beef herd is not currently being considered by government as a way to meet emissions targets.
“I have carefully read the recommendations in the dairy and beef Food Vision reports.
“With regard to the beef sector, both the farm organisations and the processors are in agreement that they do not want a beef reduction scheme so that is something that is off the table.
“We will seek to step out many of the other recommendations as quickly as possible,” the minister said.
McConalogue said that there had been some support for a reduction scheme for the dairy sector and he will be engaging with stakeholders further on this issue.
Minister McConalogue told the IFA event that climate change “is one of the key challenges of our generation”.
“What makes Ireland unique to other countries is that the portion of our national emissions attributable to agriculture has pushed this conversation to the forefront.
“For better or for worse, we are in the spotlight and I believe the moment to take advantage of this national focus has arrived.
“If we succeed, as I believe we will, we will provide a blueprint for the rest of the world in terms of how this can be done while also preserving the viability and sustainability of the sector for future generations,” he said.
The government has set of a target of a 25% reduction in emissions for the agriculture sector by 2030, compared to 2018 levels.
“There is no one single action for agriculture to reach its ambitious target but rather a series of actions that all sectors, dairy, beef, sheep, tillage and horticulture must deliver if we are to achieve our targets,” the minister said.
“We need to accelerate progress through reduced application of nitrogen-based fertilisers, replacing them with protected urea and reducing the age of cattle finishing.
“I recognise that achieving this ambition will not be without its challenges and that significant and transformational change will be required.”
The minister said that he is confident that scientific breakthroughs such as feed additives “will provide a viable implementable solution over the next number of years”.
“Diversification opportunities like anaerobic digestion, forestry, organics and tillage will provide options for farmers who wish to consider alternative income sources to livestock farming,” McConalogue added.