Something radical has to be done to stabilise the ship that is Irish tillage, so why not a levy on all grain imports?

The last number of years have seen the crops sector haemorrhage growers and land area to the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that is Irish dairy farming.

Moreover, when every other sector of Irish farming was making "real money" this time last year, tillage farmers here found themselves subsiding all of this on the back of cheap grain prices.

It seemed inherently unfair at the time. Fast forward 12 months and the parlous nature of Irish grain production remains a fundamental reality of the rural landscape.

This time around, growers find themselves caught in the pincer-like grip of cheap grain returns and the need to pay off the very expensive fertiliser costs that were incurred back in the spring.

Agriculture is supposed to be an industry of equals, with everybody getting equal trough space when it comes to feeding time.

Or is it a case of some farmers  being more equal than others? Let’s hope not.

Meanwhile, the 2030 Climate Action Plan target of expanding Ireland’s tillage area out to 400,000ha has the term "remote possibility" written all over it, given current circumstances.

So, it’s going to take something pretty fundamental when it comes to moving the dial on behalf of the crops ‘sector.

10% levy

It is against this background the proposal from the Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) for the government to introduce a 10% duty on all cereal imports into the country must be assessed.

If pushed ahead with, the measure would help create a €100 million annual fund, which would be paid out directly to Irish tillage farmers.

It is envisaged that a support measure of this scale would help stabilise and, hopefully, expand the area footprint of crop production in Ireland.

IGGG is saying that such a move on the part of the Irish government would be EU compliant. Time will tell if this is the case.

IGGG also makes the point that the introduction of the envisaged measure does not put an extra burden on government finances.

The idea is the "big ask" within the lobby group’s pre-Budget 2027 submission.

The final version of the document will be submitted to government over the coming days, with IGGG representatives sitting down with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon shortly thereafter.

So we will not have long to wait in order to find out if government is up for supporting a radical move that really gives Irish tillage a much-needed shot in the arm.