Over 200 farmers in one mart in the west of Ireland alone stopped the European Involvement Fund (EIF) levy in recent days, according to the Mart Manager.
And farmers in New Ross Mart, Co. Wexford, queued up to cancel the levy on Saturday, according to the Mart Manager Richard Kirwan.
Speaking to Agriland, Kirwan said that it was difficult to put an exact number on those who have canceled the levy, but said that farmers are very angry.
It is hard to quantify the number of farmers that are stopping the EIF levy, according to the Mart Manager of Castlerea Mart, Brendan Egan.
It is hard to quantify the number of farmers that are stopping paying their levies. A lot of farmers are waiting to see what happens.
“A percentage will stop the levies. It will all depend on the course of action the IFA takes over the coming weeks.
The number of farmers stopping the EIF levy in Bandon Mart has not been as high as first expected, according to the Mart Manager Tom McCarthy.
The numbers stopping the levies are no more than other marts around the country, in fact, I thought more would have canceled.
According to McCarthy, a lot of farmers are waiting to see what transpires over the next week or two before they make a decision.
“Generally, on the ground it seems that farmers are waiting to see what will happen, they are waiting to see can the situation be rectified.”
Mohill Mart Manager Steven Hannon said farmers are unhappy and disappointed with the whole situation, but many are still waiting to see what happens.
There were a fair few cancelations here. Farmers are unhappy with the whole situation, a lot of farmers didn’t realise what the senior people in the IFA were making.
“Farmers are disappointed, but they are waiting to see what happens before they make the decision to stop the levies,” he said.
Up to 50 clients of Central Auctions, which include Birr, Nenagh and Roscrea Marts have stopped the EIF levy, according to the group’s General Manager Matt Malone.
“Between the three marts about 40-50 farmers requested that we stop paying the levies on their behalf,” he said.
The levy is never applied to animals sold through Ballyjamesduff Mart, according to the Store Manager Micheal Reilly.
We don’t stop the levies on animals sold in Ballyjamesduff Mart. The levy can be lifted a number of times over the animals life.
“Some animals can go through the mart two to three times, but we never stop the levy, we never collected it. It will be collected when the animal is slaughtered,” he said.
How to cancel your EIF Levy
There are a number of ways to stop the EIF levy in marts, according to mart managers across the country.
While it varies between marts, many marts will stop the levy based on a telephone call in. However, some marts say that farmers must come in and talk to the mart clerk or put it in writing.