The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has called for a “unified approach” from farm organisations in response to the impending cut in the nitrates derogation.
From January 1, large swathes of the country will see the upper limit of the derogation cut from 250kg of organic nitrogen (N) per hectare to 220kgN/ha.
This was confirmed last week when Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said that the European Commission had ruled out any possibility of revising any part of the regulations attached to Ireland’s derogation.
This has generated a strong response from various farm organisations, who are concerned over the impact this will have on farmers’ financial viability, particularly in the dairy sector.
Speaking this afternoon (Tuesday, September 12) Dermot Kelleher, the ICSA president, called on Irish farm organisations to make a unified response to this development on behalf of all farmers.
“All farm organisations need to work together to ensure the interests of all farmers are effectively defended. The interests of family-run dairy farmers are important, and so too are the interests of cattle, sheep, and tillage farmers,” Kelleher said.
“It is clear now that both the government and the EU are not engaging properly with farm representatives. Progress can only be made if we can find a way forward to mange the interests of all farmers on a fair and equitable basis,” he added.
Kelleher expressed concern for the viability of dairy farms as well as the impact the reduced derogation would have on other sectors, with dairy farmers likely looking for more land to offset their stocking rates.
“I do not want to see family dairy farms put out of business because of the potential consequences of the derogation being reduced, nor do I want to see other farmers losing out on land they have farmed on lease or rental agreements for many years.
The ICSA president called for all farm organisations to collectively develop a strategy that “puts balance and fairness for all farmers at the heart of our collective lobbying efforts”.
“This must be the basis for all farm organisations to look at how to bring a unified approach to dealing with the government and EU,” Kelleher said.
“The external threats to Irish farming have never been greater and we need to pull together on fighting for fair play for farmers.”
According to Kelleher, the key issues that farm organisations should address collectively are prices for produce; recognising what farmers have done to be more sustainable; and obtaining proper funding for any additional measures that farmers are expected to undertake on climate or biodiversity.
“We also must be more determined and smarter in challenging the anti-meat, anti-livestock farming narrative,” he said.