A Fianna Fáil TD has asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to “look at opening” the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme to new entrants.
The TD for Longford-Westmeath, Joe Flaherty, asked the minister to consider opening the scheme to new entrants “in view of recent adverse weather”.
According to Teagasc, its latest research published last month, suggested that while 75% of farms surveyed have a surplus of winter feed in stock, a cohort of 10-20% of farms – depending on region – are at risk of being tight for winter feed.
However, Minister Charlie McConalogue told Deputy Flaherty that while he was “monitoring” the situation around the price of agricultural inputs, he has “no plans” to re-open the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme to new entrants.
The €30 million 2023 Fodder Support Scheme was launched by Minister McConalogue last November – a continuance of the 2022 scheme – “to incentivise farmers, in particular drystock farmers to grow more fodder, silage or hay, in 2023”.
Only successful applicants for the 2022 scheme were eligible to apply for the 2023 scheme.
A total of 67,451 farmers applied for the 2023 scheme where a payment of up to €100 per eligible hectare, on up to a maximum of 10ha is available.
The scheme briefly reopened in July to enable existing applicants “to amend downwards the area” they had entered for the 2023 scheme in November and December 2022.
Minister McConalogue told Deputy Flaherty that this was to “reflect the land the participant has claimed on their 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application if required”.
He also highlighted to the TD for Longford Westmeath that he had recently announced specific supports for farmers who had been impacted by “exceptional flooding in 2023”.
These include the €800,000 Shannon Callows Flood Scheme and the €1,000/ha Unharvested Crop Support Scheme 2023.