There are renewed calls for the fast-approaching deadline for spreading under the National Liming Programme to be pushed out beyond the current cut-off of March 31.
Farmers have until the end of this month to spread the volumes of lime they purchased under the scheme.
Originally, the deadline for spreading was October 31 last year, which was the same date by which farmers had to submit invoices marked paid for the lime they purchased.
In light of poor weather conditions at the time, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue extended the deadline for spreading to March 31, as long as invoices were submitted by the original October 31 date.
However, there have been persistent calls since then for the spreading deadline to be further extended, most recently from the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), which said that, due to wet weather continuing, the conditions for spreading are far from optimal.
“Ground conditions remain extremely difficult on both dry and wet land and there is no prospect for farmers in wet areas being able to meet the March 31 deadline without doing severe damage to land,” ICMSA deputy president Eamon Carrol said today (Tuesday, March 12).
“The jobs are just piling up and the reality is that when land does dry, farmers will be prioritising getting animals to grass given the scarcity of fodder. Then there is spreading slurry and fertiliser to get grass growing,” he added.
“We can safely anticipate that liming contractors will be inundated with calls to get the lime spread before the deadline while also trying to do other jobs for farmers.”
According to Carrol, extending the deadline would serve the interests of health and safety, as well as delivering the “maximum environmental benefit”.
The ICMSA is calling on the minister to extend the deadline to June 30.
“It’s logical, do-able and sensible and would remove one element of pressure from farmers at an extremely difficult time,” Carrol said.
The ICMSA deputy president added: “The minister has the authority to change this deadline and he should do so immediately in recognition of the challenges facing farmers.”
‘Generous extension’ to liming
However, last month Minister McConalogue appeared to rule out the possibility of a further extension to the deadline, saying the original extension had been “generous”.
The minister made the comment following a question from Fine Gael Mayo TD Michael Ring, who expressed concern that weather conditions were making liming difficult on marginal land.
In response to Ring’s question, Minister McConalogue said that applicants were given “significantly more time to spread their approved quantity of lime”.
“This 5-month extension to the spreading deadline was made in light of the challenging weather conditions in 2023.
“The National Liming Programme was supported as a once-off measure funded by the national exchequer for 2023. Given the generous extension of time already granted, coupled with the need to conclude outstanding payments as soon as possible, I do not intend to make any further extension to the spreading deadline of March 31, 2024,” Minister McConalogue said.
The minister called on farmers who have not spread their approved quantity of lime to do so “at the earliest opportunity”, and no later than March 31, if they wish to qualify for payment under the scheme.