DAERA called on to publish economic assessment of NAP proposals
Calls have been made for the publication of the full economic assessment linked to the latest Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) proposals for Northern Ireland.
Ulster Bank's head of agriculture, Cormac McKervey, said: “The proposals are out for public consultation at the present time.
"This being the case it would be appropriate for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to publish the full economic assessment across agriculture as a whole.”
McKervey described the most recent set of NAP proposals as "workable, relative to what was on the table 12 months ago".
He said: “Ulster Bank will be relating its view on the public consultation courtesy of planned meetings with a wide range of stakeholder organisations.
“It is also important that we see the full economic impact statements associated with the new NAP package in the near future.”
Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme
Meanwhile, Ulster Bank is welcoming the recent launch of the new Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme.
McKervey said: “The measure will help to improve health and safety, productivity and environmental standards reduce labour input in a very positive way.
“The end result is an increase in farm business sustainability.”
According to McKervey, a number of Northern Ireland’s farming sectors continue to enjoy significant levels of profitability. But for others, however, challenges are evident.
“The poultry meat and egg sectors continue to perform well.
"Beef is steady. Yes prices did come back a bit. However, store prices did come back and there was that correction."
He added that farmers will have to "work through" those issues, but noted that "beef is still a good price".
“Their sector seems to see a consumer kickback if prices go above a certain level.
"There will be a few more finished animals becoming available later in the year. But the general supply/demand balance is fine.
“Lamb continues to do well, which has been the case for the past five to six years.”
Where milk is concerned, the Ulster Bank representative pointed to the sector coming through the recent fallback in markets relatively unscathed.
McKervey added: “The challenges facing the dairy industry seem to have bottomed out. And farmers have done well to get to this point.
“To be honest, last autumn there was a general perspective that milk prices might well have fallen to a greater extent than they actually did.
“At 31-32p/L, the current milk price is still below the cost of production on most farms.
“But on the back of decent cull cow and dropped calf prices, there is enough money coming in to allow farmers through."
He said that Ulster Bank is seeing some farmers seeking to "heavily utilise" their overdraft facilities.
"This is particularly so in cases where businesses are closed with TB," the Ulster Bank representative said.
