The complete roll-out of Northern Ireland’s new farm support measures could take until the end of 2026, and possibly beyond, according to the members of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) presidential team.
Last year saw the unveiling of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme, with the beginning of January this year marked by the launch of the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme.
The latter will incentivise the slaughter of beef cattle at a younger age.
Looking ahead, measures including a new suckler scheme, plus the carbon farming and the sustainable ruminant genetics programmes are in the pipeline.
Money has also been set aside for a new sheep support measure. However, the detail of how this scheme will be implemented has yet to be agreed.
Meanwhile, the members of the union’s presidential team are pointing to delays in the introduction of the various support schemes.
According to Brown: “This is due to the need for secondary legislation. And we need an operating Executive at Stormont to make this happen.”
Farm support measures
The union representative is also confirming a degree a confusion at farm level regarding the impact of the new measures.
“Many farmers are still trying to get their heads around the fact that 2024 single farm payments will be reduced by around 9% across the board, to cover the cost of the new Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme.
President of the UFU, David Brown said:
“Change is fast impacting across the entire fabric of agriculture in Northern Ireland, where future support is concerned.
“It is incumbent on those involved with UFU to explain these changes in a proactive and clear manner.”
The current farm support budgets for Northern Ireland total £300 million annually. Brown has claimed that for the UK government to simply roll over this commitment will, in effect, amount to real-time cuts in farm support.
“The first hurdle to be overcome is that of dealing with a new government in Westminster. There is no farm support budgetary guarantee available to agriculture in Northern Ireland, beyond the completion of the current Westminster parliamentary term,” the president said.
However, according to Brown, it’s not all bad news where future farm funding for agriculture in NI is concerned.
“An additional £100 million has been secured to fund the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme, the Sustainable Ruminant Genetics Programme and the Carbon Farming measure into the future.
“The impact of these programmes will greatly benefit agriculture across NI into the future,” he added.