The impact of the farm input crisis is being witnessed at marts where lighter store cattle prices have dropped due to a lack of confidence, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The IFA Livestock Chairman said that “immediate and direct financial supports” must be provided to farmers to offset the increased costs for feed, fertiliser and fuel on suckler, cattle rearing and finishing farms.
“These supports must be paid directly to farmers based on their level of production,” Brendan Golden said.
He said that Ireland’s well-establish production systems “have delivered a consistent year-round supply of beef and have been fundamental to securing key export markets”.
“We are already seeing farmers stepping back from purchasing lighter stores and weanlings as the uncertainty and costs build.
“There is a real concern the trade of beef animals will be severely disrupted and in turn our supply chain for beef if there is a failure to put guarantees in place for farmers who are producing beef for this autumn and next spring,” Golden outlined.
The IFA Livestock chair said that restrictions on land use under schemes, nitrates requirements and other legal obligations must be removed to ensure farmers have all lands at their disposal to produce grass.
This included wild bird cover, traditional hay meadows and low-input grasslands in the GLAS scheme.
The IFA Livestock chair said that measures put forward at the National Fodder and Food Security Committee need to focus on supporting suckler and beef farmers.
Brendan Golden noted that incentives to grow extra fodder are important but said Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue must ensure this does not displace cattle rearing and finishing systems.
He explained that the trading of animals is a critical component of the livestock sector and the removal of grassland from this system, either through planting of crops or redirecting grass to other sectors, can have very serious consequences.