The final report from the Food Vision Tillage Group was expected to be published well before St. Patrick’s Day.
Since then, we had every Irish government minister visiting ‘far distant lands’ in honour of our patron saint and, of course, the dynamic events that have taken place within Fine Gael.
So, with the political dust now settling in the wake of these developments, could we, possibly, see the unveiling of the tillage report this week?
Ironically, it could turn out to be a case of perfect timing, if such were the case.
The predicted weather for the days ahead is worse than terrible. So, as a consequence, tillage farmers would have plenty of time on their hands this week to peruse the content of the final report in total detail, should it come their way.
Food Vision Tillage Group
So what will tillage farmers be expecting from the recommendations that emanate from this much anticipated publication?
Firstly, they will need some form of short-term lift. In other words, the guarantee – not promise – of real financial support in the here and now to get them over the bump that was 2023 and the growing crisis which 2024 is shaping up to be.
As matters stand, there is absolutely no hope of the tillage sector playing its envisaged part as a key component of Ireland’s response to climate change.
The prospect of expanding the tillage area has levelled-off. The reality is that tillage businesses have been holed below the water line by a combination of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) realignments, high input costs, declining prices and the atrocious weather of the past 15 months.
As a result, hope for the future will only come in the form of real government support. And this must be made available as a matter of absolute priority.
Obviously, farmers can do nothing about the weather. But there is a growing expectation that more can be done by all tillage stakeholder groups, including the government, to factor-in the impact of our changing weather patterns.
Crop insurance
It is in this context that the introduction of a crop insurance scheme should be considered.
The obvious way forward in this context is for all stakeholders – growers, millers/compounders and government – to pay into the compensation kitty that would be established.
Making this approach meaningful, would require all farmers growing above a certain threshold area of cereals to contribute to the scheme.
Some growers may have an issue with the mandatory nature of such a measure. However, it is only by taking this approach that a realistic support fund can be built up on behalf of the grain sector as a whole.