Farm orgs: Straw Incorporation Measure suspension 'unacceptable'
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Irish Grain Growers (IGG) have said that a proposal to suspend the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) is "totally unacceptable".
The farm organisations outlined their position during a meeting with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue at Gurteen Agriculture College in Co. Tipperary this morning (Thursday, July 18).
Yesterday, the minister announced his intention to seek a deferral of the 2024 SIM from the European Commission.
Minister McConalogue said that while he appreciates that tillage farmers “may be disappointed by this move”, there is a “very strong market for straw this year due to the shortage and the need to replenish supplies”.
In a joint statement, the delegation, which included IFA president Francie Gorman and IGG chairman Bobby Miller, said that they made it clear to Minister McConalogue that his decision to suspend the scheme "must be overturned immediately".
They said that the minister offered a follow up meeting with the farm organisations next week.
However, the delegation said it was "adamant that next week was too late" and that the minister "needed to resolve the matter urgently".
"IFA and IGG made it clear that the minister must meet with us again tomorrow or over the weekend. This remains our position," the statement read.
"Both the IFA and IGG were clear this decision will not be accepted and that the Minister must revisit his decision.
"This decision flies in the face of the Food Vision Tillage report, the discussion at last week’s National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) and the recently agreed Farmers’ Charter.
"Farmers made decisions to plant crops based on a scheme announced by the minister. He is now withdrawing the scheme after the harvest has started.
"If the minister can do this to tillage farmers, he can do it to any farmer at the stroke of a pen. It will not be accepted," the farm organisations said.
IFA president Francie Gorman has described the decision a ‘solo run’ by the minister and expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the minister’s decision to the crowd at a farm talk organised by the IFA in Co. Galway last evening.
The Straw Incorporation Measure is a payment for chopping straw and incorporating it into the soil.
The scheme, which has proved to be very popular with tillage farmers, resulted in payments worth a total of €12.3 million in 2023.
Minister McConalogue has said that he will continue to engage with the farm organisations in relation to the SIM.
