The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, is to address the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) next week.
The minister will virtually join the meeting taking place at the Clanard Court Hotel in Athy, Co. Kildare on Monday, January 23.
Speaking ahead of the event, chair of the IGGG, Bobby Miller told Agriland that tillage farmers will have a range of issues and concerns which they want the minister to address.
Miller said that this will include the financial loss in payments for 70% of tillage farmers under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Farmers will also be looking for clarity on how the government intends to increase the total tillage area to 400,000ha by 2030 as part of the Climate Action Plan which was signed off on in December.
“We want to know how the government will add value to grain in order to encourage people into tillage,” Miller said.
The meeting is also likely to discuss the European Commission’s proposed Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) which would replace the existing Sustainable Use Directive (SUD).
AGM
The first speaker at the IGGG AGM, which begins at 11:00a.m, will be Ewen Mullins.
The head of the crop science department at the Crops Research Centre at Teagasc Oak Park will address farmers on new breeding techniques being developed in Europe.
Depending on the individual crop, it can take an average of 10 years to produce a new variety.
The use of techniques such as gene editing are aiming to enhance the performance of existing varieties without adding in additional genes.
The EU is currently developing a new framework to evaluate the material generated through such techniques.
Sinead Morris, assistant lecturer in molecular biology and biochemistry at South East Technical University (SETU), Carlow will also speak about research on brewing and distilling.
In particular, she will discuss the use of alternative grains for distilling, specifically wheat.