Tirlán has called on its suppliers to declare the actions they are taking in order to avail of the co-op’s Sustainability Action Payment.
Tirlán’s Sustainability Action Payment dashboard has re-opened on the Tirlán FarmLife website and all suppliers that wish to continue to receive the 0.5c/L (including VAT) payment have been urged to take action.
Tirlán suppliers in the Republic of Ireland have to declare seven on-farm sustainability actions to receive the payment, from a menu of 20 options.
The processor said that a number of changes have been introduced to the payment programme, which, according to Tirlán, brings additional benefits “for the environment and on-farm economics”.
For example, the purchase of protected urea now represents a double action, and counts as two of the seven actions required to receive full payment.
The use of protected urea instead of other fertilisers such calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) or straight urea has been identified as an “impactful” on-farm climate action measure, the co-op said.
As well as that, two new measures have been added for farmers to chose from. These are participation in a genotyping programme, and participation in the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP).
These two measures will “enhance on-farm performance”, according to Tirlán.
Tirlán chairperson John Murphy said that the latest changes have been introduced to “further support suppliers’ good work in addressing key water quality and emissions reductions challenges”.
“Our farm family suppliers are renowned across the globe for producing high-quality dairy products with world-leading natural credentials. We all have a role to play in climate action, water and biodiversity protection and air quality enhancement,” he said.
“It is important that our family farms are assisted as they continue to enhance their environmental and economic sustainability credentials. We want to do as much as we can to improve water quality and ensure that Ireland can put the best case forward for retention of the nitrates derogation,” Murphy added.
“This initiative is designed to reward suppliers for adopting a series of measures identified as key to delivering on our comprehensive sustainability strategy.”
“The use of protected urea is counted as two actions and the addition of genotyping and the participation in the water quality EIP programme showcases our farmer-owned co-operative’s commitment to support our farm families to become both economically and environmentally sustainable,” the co-op chairperson said.