The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has welcomed the announced support package for the tillage sector, however the lack of grassland and fertiliser measures is a “glaring error”.
The Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue today (Tuesday, March 22) unveiled a support package of over €12 million to encourage farmers to plant more crops.
Commenting on proposed measures, the ICMSA president, Pat McCormack said the absence of any substantial measure on grassland is “hugely disappointing”.
He added that grass is key in terms of fodder supplies:
“We need to grow grass and this reality is being threatened by the massively escalated costs in 2022 due to unprecedented fertiliser prices.”
McCormack said that a higher rate of payment is made available for the growing of maize or fodder beet given the significantly higher cost of producing these crops.
Proposals in relation to species-rich grassland however, he added, must recognise that “the jury is still out” on their effectiveness.
The support package includes a multi-species sward scheme which allocates €2 million to support the planting of 16,000ha of multi-species swards. It is also proposed to extend the scheme to include red clover as an eligible crop.
The measure on its own, McCormack added, will not ensure sufficient supplies of fodder for next winter. He explained:
“The single biggest challenge for dairy and livestock farmers in 2022, to this point, is the price of fertiliser – and that will have to be addressed at both a national and EU level.
“Fertiliser prices have escalated to ridiculous levels and both the government and the EU are going to have to step in if we are to have the quantities necessary to grow the sufficient levels of grass needed for silage next winter,” the ICMSA president added.
McCormack said that the lack of specific measures to support grassland needs to be rectified “sooner rather than later”.