Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has said that he does not envisage any further extension to the deadline for spreading lime under the National Liming Programme.
In response to a parliamentary question this week from independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan, the minister said that the programme is a once-off measure with no funding available for next year.
Nolan asked the minister “if he will consider extending the deadline for lime to be spread beyond March 31, 2024 to July 15, 2024 to allow farmers time to spread the lime after first-cut silage if the weather has not improved sufficiently before then”?
In response, Minister McConalogue said: “On October 6, I announced flexibility to the spreading date under the National Liming Programme. While the deadline of October 31, 2023 remains in place for receipt of claims, applicants have until March 31 to spread the lime.
“The extension to the spreading dates was permitted due to the challenging weather conditions in 2023.”
However, this deadline for spreading is not likely to be extended further, the minister suggested.
“As this programme is supported as a once-off measure from the national exchequer and there is no funding available for next year, I do not envisage any further extension to the spreading date as administration checks for the programme must be completed by 2024,” he said.
Calls for liming programme extension
The minister’s response comes after the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) called for the deadline for spreading under the National Liming Programme to be extended to July next year.
Deputy president of the ICMSA, Denis Drennan, who also chairs the association’s Farm and Rural Affairs Committee, welcomed the extension to March as “a step in the right direction”.
However, Drennan also said “the reality for farmers in particularly wetter parts of Ireland is that a lot of land targeted for lime spreading will probably not dry out sufficiently before April or May next year”.
“At that stage, the land will have been closed off for first cut silage.
“The liming programme is a welcome initiative, and the minister should ensure that its benefit is maximised – that is why [we think] that forcing farmers to spread lime in unsuitable conditions between now and next March would not be sensible,” Drennan added.