The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has expressed its discontent at the idea that some dairy farmers with more than 120 cows could be excluded from drawing down funding under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).
Earlier this week (Monday, December 12), Agriland reported that the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) believes proposals to limit the number of dairy farmers eligible for equipment grants under the scheme “are under consideration”.
Agriland has submitted numerous requests for confirmation on this to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), however, it has not provided any statement on the matter.
To introduce a policy such as this would be to “deem it unacceptable for full-time dairy farmers to make a profit”, according to ICMSA president Pat McCormack, who said that the measure would be both “biased and baseless”.
He also stated that its implementation would also serve as “more evidence of an official agenda against our flagship family dairy farm sector”.
McCormack pointed out that Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue recently took part in a questions and answers session at the recent ICMSA annual general meeting (AGM), where he discussed many policies at length, yet he made no mention of a 120-cow cap.
“We think it’s a little disingenuous of the minister to talk at some length about what new items would be eligible, but to make absolutely no mention of a numbers cap that will exclude a significant number of dairy farmers.
“An ICMSA delegation met with department officials in early November on the proposed new TAMS and there was absolutely no mention of any cap of any description at that meeting,” he added.
McCormack said it appears that the DAFM have abandoned the concept of consulting with farmers via representative organisations, stating farmers regularly learn about major decisions that will affect them via the media.
This is despite a statement in the Farmers Charter which reads “the department will fully consult with farming organisations on all scheme details”.
“That has blatantly not happened here and the idea of consultation has now been reduced to the level of a joke.
“If you’re a hobby farmer with a six-figure off-farm income then the government is happy to support you to an astonishingly generous degree.
“But if you’re a full-time farmer – specifically a full-time dairy farmer – then at every opportunity you find yourself being shut out and excluded from participation or funding that would help you in the current transition process,” McCormack added.
The ICMSA president finished by calling on the government to “come right out and say it” if it wants to put policies in place to shrink the dairy sector in Ireland.