A proposed scheme to reduce the number of dairy cows in the country by paying farmers to exit the sector would “herald the beginning of the end for family farms in Ireland”, Macra has claimed.
The young farmer organisation was reacting to the fact the the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is looking to progress plans for such a scheme, which was one of the recommendations of the Food Vision Dairy Group Report.
It emerged on Friday (June 16) that stakeholders in the dairy sector were told that a “consultation document” would be issued to them so they can provide feedback, views and support or opposition to any such scheme.
Stakeholders were informed of this at a meeting of the Food Vision Dairy Group that day.
It is understood that of all the stakeholders at that meeting – which included farm organisations, industry bodies, and state agencies, among others – Macra expressed the strongest opposition, instead calling for a farm succession scheme.
The organisation has said that the scheme, if enacted, will “fundamentally damage dairy farming for all active farmers, make once productive farmland unproductive, and take away opportunities for young dairy farmers to farm”.
Speaking this afternoon (Monday, June 19), Elaine Houlihan, Macra’s national president, said: “The proposed exit scheme does not represent value for money for either taxpayers or active farmers and will be the kiss of death for generational renewal and the long-term sustainability of the dairy industry.
“We need to flip the approach to emission reduction on its head. A succession scheme can achieve far better results than an exit scheme, delivering value for money and greater policy cohesion in terms generational renewal.”
Macra said that its proposed succession scheme would incorporate a “step back” mechanism for farmers that want to exit dairying coupled with an entrance scheme for young farmers who will adopt a range of climate mitigation measures.
The farm organisation added that, on the other hand, an exit scheme “essentially wipes out the investments that active farmers have made in their processing industry over the last number of years”.
Houlihan said: “The proposed measure is an attack on every parish and community of rural Ireland. The measure will do nothing but to further inflate the land market and force further pressures on farmers”.
“What is the value in taxpayer money for a scheme that is going to retiring farmers who won’t be reinvesting in the sector as opposed to a succession scheme that will [see reinvestment] by young farmers, creating a multiplier effect through the economy.
“Now is the time to invest in young farmers and pursue positive schemes that will deliver on multiple objectives from climate change to generational renewal [and] that will enhance Irish dairy farming’s position as a world leader in sustainability,” Houlihan added.