The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has published its submission for the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (CSP) consultation, calling for a €300/head payment for suckler cows.

The association said that its focus was on bringing payments to active but low-income sectors.

Dermot Kelleher, ICSA president, said that the association was calling for the full use of the 13% coupled payment option for additional payments for sucklers and ewes.

This, the ICSA argues, would deliver €120/head on the first 40 suckler cows.

When payments from other Pillar II sources are factored in, the ICSA believes this can deliver €300/head on the first 40 cows. In the “unlikely event” of an increase in suckler cow numbers, the ICSA proposes a liner percentage cut to payments.

The association does not support a method of “quotas or capping”.

The farm organisation also argued that the coupled payment option would deliver a €16/head payment for the first 250 ewes. When other Pillar II payments are included, this would increase to €35/head for the first 250 ewes, again with no quotas or capping.

The ICSA believes that the suckler coupled payment can be funded by deducting 9.3% from all per-hectare payments, while the ewe coupled payment can be funded through a 3.7% deduction to all per-hectare payments.

Furthermore, the association believes that this method of redistributing income to smaller-income farmers would offset the need for the Complimentary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS), which the ICSA argues is an “inefficient” way of targeting payments.

As well as that, the organisation is calling for a €70-€100/head beef carbon efficiency payment on up to 150 animals for farmers who undertake a programme designed to deliver more efficient, earlier slaughter of steers, heifers, and bulls.

Such a scheme would involve weighing, dung samples and a target to finish cattle at under-28 months for steers; under-26 months for heifers; and under-20 months for young bulls, with higher payments the younger they are finished.

The ICSA is also seeking an agri-environment scheme that will give a maximum payment of €15,000 and an average payment of €10,000.

The association opposes any plan to link “any CAP payment whatsoever” with Bord Bia quality assurance (QA) schemes, with Kelleher saying: “CAP is about supporting farmers, not about subsidising marketing for factories.”

The key ICSA proposals are summarised as follows:

  • A suckler cow variable premium worth around €120/cow calved in addition to other payments, which can in total deliver €300/cow payments, to be made on the first 40 cows and to vary depending on numbers of cows’ calves;
  • Early retirement scheme for suckler farmers;
  • A ewe variable payment of around €16/ewe on the first 250 ewes, including a €5/ewe payment for presentation of wool;
  • A single, menu-based agri-environment scheme that can deliver a payment of up to €15,000, with an average payment of €10,000, based on the participation of 38,000 farmers;
  • Beef carbon efficiency payment worth up to €100/head for feeding animals between 12-24 months. Payment would require weighing once, dung sampling and one-day training. Animals can be suckler or dairy-born but not female dairy breeds. This would include a voluntary early slaughter element;
  • A minimum stocking rate for participation in eco-schemes;
  • A five-year limit to leasing of entitlements;
  • Top-up payments for young farmers under the coupled payment option at a rate of 25% (€30/head for sucklers and €4/head for ewes);
  • Eco-schemes to be focused on less intensive farmers and no prioritisation for derogation farmers;
  • No capping of suckler herd;
  • No linking of payments to membership of Bord Bia QA schemes.