The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) is to have further discussions on the new catch crop grazing regulations this week with Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) officials.
The amended criteria are contained in the new Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 6 regulations.
ICSA general secretary, Eddie Punch, commented: “Growing catch crops on tillage farms has always been regarded as good agricultural practice.
“Planting out the crop ensures that the soils in question are not left exposed over the winter months.
“The plants within the growing crop will be mopping up nutrients within the soil while the likes of clovers can take nitrogen out of the atmosphere.
“The subsequent grazing of the crop by cattle or sheep is then adding value to the investment made by the farmers in question,” Punch added.
Catch crop
The ICSA general secretary said that professional tillage farmers are utilising large blocks of land for the specific purpose of growing arable crops and as a result, they don’t have access to grazed grass.
“So it is not feasible for growers to sow out, let’s say, 70% of an area with the intended catch crop and stitch grass seed into the remaining 30%,” Punch continued.
“For one thing, the freshly sown grass will not have a chance to provide any form of lie-back area for stock. It will simply be trampled down within a very short space of time.
“It’s an approach that practically makes no sense whatsoever.”
The ICSA is also concerned that the new GAEC 6 measures will restrict winter feeding opportunities for livestock farmers in parts of the country where significant areas of tillage crops are grown.
Given this backdrop, the farm organisation wants DAFM officials to allow the continuation of traditional catch crop growing practices – which did not include the need for an accompanying grass lie-back area.
GAEC 6 covers the new criteria that relate to the growing and subsequent grazing of catch crops.
Initially, the regulation required the inclusion of a grass lie-back area that was of equal size to that planted out in the actual catch crop. Stock are to have free access to the lie-back area at all times.
However, it was subsequently agreed that a 30%:70% lie-back to catch crop ratio would meet the criteria laid down within the new conditionality regulations.
The GAEC 6 measures relate to the prevention of excessive poaching and nutrient run-off from arable soils during the winter months.