I – and my fellow members of the Individual Farmers of Ireland – am calling on Minister Creed and our Government to act immediately – to save the Irish agricultural industry.
We are in total crisis following the drop in prices paid to [beef] farmers since the coronavirus pandemic begun. From talking to other farmers, we believe that many will not survive this onslaught by factories and processors on our livelihoods.
How can such price-cuts be justified? They’ve come at a time when we need all the available support to survive. Meanwhile, some processors claim that the demand for our beef has dropped; yet ABP supplied some of its UK customers with beef from Poland.
Our biggest market
In the UK – our biggest beef market – some shop shelves can’t be kept filled with fresh produce, whether it be beef, lamb or dairy.
Some supermarkets there had imposed maximum limits on how much milk an individual consumer could buy at each visit. Yet, there were reports of some UK farmers having to dispose of milk.
This can only mean that the system is inherently wrong. Where is the logic in us being driven out of food production – by greed from some in the processing and retail sectors?
We urgently need the prices paid to farmers to be restored to where they were before the onset of coronavirus. The price of food in the shops hasn’t dropped; people still have to eat. Consumption habits may have changed, but surely the same amount of food is being eaten – in one way or another.
The Government has recognised that farmers are ‘essential workers’. This is true; without farmers the shop shelves would be empty, but we can no longer work for no return…and no income.
We are calling on the Government to step in and support farming. We need the Government to work to restore prices for our produce – to pre-coronavirus levels. There is enough money in the food chain, but we are not getting our fair share.
We are also calling on the Government to scrap carbon taxes on agricultural [green] diesel; a price hike is due in May.
With the busy silage harvesting season about to start, contractors will have no choice but to pass these costs on to farmers. Farmers cannot afford it.
Frustrating for farmers
What’s most frustrating is that farmers are frequently vilified and blamed in the climate change debate. Analysis now shows that emissions from livestock are recycled and don’t have the impact on our atmosphere that was previously presented as fact.
Some reports say that air pollution worldwide is down significantly – since lockdowns came into place in many countries. All the while farming has continued, so how is farming to blame?
But we need help now – to save the business of farming and to avoid food shortages. If there is no action, can we face the prospect of another 100,000 signing on – for a short-lived €350 weekly payment.
From James Geoghegan, PRO of Individual Farmers of Ireland, farmer and contractor, Co. Westmeath