The Tullamore Show 2013 was opened by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney this afternoon. “This is a really big day for agriculture. More than 70,000 people for all over Ireland are here today. They are coming to experience agriculture and the food industry to network,” the minister said.
Speaking to AgriLand Minister Coveney said the Tullamore was the “flagship show” of Ireland and he congratulated the organisers and all the volunteers.
Regarding suckler herd payments, he said: “[The Department of Agriculture] are already giving assistance to the suckler cow sector in terms of data information support systems, subsidising farmers for sharing breeding data from herds. This year’s subsidies of the sucker cow industry will be €25m.
“Next year we have to look at the overall budget to see what we can afford to do. The suckler sector is a very important sector. We don’t want the beef sector to become a byproduct of the dairy sector and that is not going to happen.”
The minister also noted a very difficult winter last year. “It is my job to ensure that the supports are there throughout the sector to grow and expand but we have eminent funds to do that. We will be discussing all of this with farming organisations how best to spend the limited money we have,” he concluded.
Watch the Minister on AgriLand here.
Image courtesy Jennifer O’Sullivan Photography