New Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Dermot Kelleher has hit out at comments from Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on the beef sector and the Organic Farming Scheme.
The Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications was fielding questions for the government in the Dáil yesterday (Thursday, February 25), when independent TD Matt Shanahan called for a new scheme similar to the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) scheme, highlighting low margins for beef farmers.
In response to this, Minister Ryan pointed to the Organic Farming Scheme as “the future of Irish farming”.
Approximately 500 or 600 farmers will be able to go into it. I mention it because I think that is the future for Irish farming, especially beef and lamb.
“It offers the prospect of reducing the input costs and increasing the price that we get on the market, which I understand to be patently clear, since one can see the price of one versus the other,” the minister said.
He added: “Our food strategy is coming close to fruition now. I believe that it is in the interest of farmers to go in this green way because it is the best way of guaranteeing a price.”
The comments did not go down well with the ICSA president.
“To claim that a scheme – which explicitly targets tillage, horticulture and dairy farmers to the detriment of beef farmers – is a panacea for the beef sector is patronising in the extreme,” Dermot Kelleher remarked.
ICSA has been actively canvassing for a more ambitious organics scheme that would include far greater numbers of cattle and sheep farmers.
“There are some 100,000 farmers in this country who keep cattle. There are 400 to 500 places available in the next round of the organics scheme, the vast majority of which will go to those in the three preferred sectors,” he claimed.
“ICSA suggests the Green Party should demonstrate their commitment to the organics sector by developing a broader organics scheme that does not sideline beef and sheep farmers,” Kelleher added.
The ICSA president – who recently took over the reins of the organisation from Edmond Phelan – also said that the government needed to “commit to a massive promotional campaign to ensure we can expand the sales of organic beef and lamb into premium European markets.
In addition, meat processors must be held to account for a failure to drive increased organic meat sales in EU markets.
“As it is, we can barely find markets for what we currently produce with the result that there are times of the year when organic beef can’t be sold for a premium and there is no bonus at all for organic lamb in factories,” Kelleher concluded.