Calls have been made for the €40 million available to the suckler cow sector for 2020 to “become a priority for implementation” for the Beef Market Taskforce.
Speaking in advance of the second Beef Market Taskforce meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 9, the president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA), Colm O’Donnell, has said: “This must be addressed as a matter of urgency at the next meeting in order to target support at a sector which is extremely vulnerable at the present time.”
Minister Creed confirmed the additional funding at the time of Budget 2020.
Continuing, O’Donnell said: “The INHFA has already highlighted to Minister Creed and the beef taskforce chairman that recent Department of Agriculture schemes have discriminated unfairly against smaller suckler herds who have not participated.”
He believes this is “because of the complex nature and conditionality attached to schemes such as the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), the BEEP and the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM)”.
O’Donnell added: “On average, the three current support measures in place have approximately an uptake level of just 25% or 15,000 suckler farmers out of a total of 60,000 farmers deemed to be eligible for support”.
Concluding, the national farm leader said: “It is vital that the minister now comes forward with a new focus on how his department draws up new schemes that have the ability to both deliver on the objectives of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programme whilst ensuring the equal treatment of all suckler farmers.”