The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said that it will consider a voluntary scheme to reduce dairy cow numbers as long as three “red line” conditions are met.
In its submission to the consultation on a proposed dairy exit scheme, the organisation said it supports the concept of a scheme on a voluntary basis, and that such a scheme should be open to both dairy and suckler farmers.
However, the ICMSA said that the following three conditions must be met:
- That there must not be overall cap on dairy cows in the country or at farm level;
- That farmers who take the scheme do not have their land “sterilised” and will have no conditions placed on their land once the contract is over;
- That dairy farmers would be allowed to lease the land from those exiting if they in turn maintain or reduce their stocking rate.
The farm organisation also said the scheme should not be a “slaughter scheme”, and that dairy farmers should be able to sell their genetically best cows to those remaining in the sector in order to improve the the overall genetic merit of the national herd.
The ICMSA also wants new entrants to the sector, and dairy farmers entering the sector through succession, to be able to acquire, through leasing, a portion of land that cows have been removed from under the scheme.
Furthermore, the association is also calling for a force majeure element to be included in the scheme to take account of specific circumstances that may arise.
The ICMSA is looking for the scheme to be accompanied with an increased budget for the Dairy Calf Welfare Scheme, in order to encourage farmers who opt to reduce or exit to diversify into calf rearing.
The organisation’s submission document said that many farmers who may avail of the exit scheme would have experience in, and space for, rearing calves.
One of the key principles proposed as part of the scheme is that, if a holding on which cows were removed is transferred, the recipient of the land cannot start a ruminant breeding enterprise on that land. The ICMSA wants this restriction to last only for the duration of the scheme contract.
Other key points of concern in the ICMSA’s submission include:
- The scheme should not impact on other farmers’ ambitions to expand;
- At the end of the five year scheme contract, all conditions of the scheme would lapse and not be extended;
- An upfront payment in each scheme year should be considered;
- An emissions reduction on a farm as a result of a reduction of cows must not be used as an emissions limit for that farm after the contract;
- Farmers who engage in the scheme should be allowed diversify into any area of farming they wish.